Zero Hopes : Part Two
by Jude998
Summary: This is a continuation to another fic. Part two begins during the season three timeline.
1. Angelville

This is a continuation to another fic - s/12203499/1/Zero-Hopes

I didn't realize how many people really kept up with the fic until I ended it, ha. Thanks for letting me know and I'll keep going as long as people are entertained. Enjoy!

* * *

_**A summary for the first fic to those who haven't read or don't care to:**_

_The plot of this fic takes place same time frame as the show. _

_The first part is through season 1-2, where Jesses sister (an OC) takes a role as Cassidy's love interest._

_There was always something about Lily that was unique. Some would say it was luck or above average intuition, but those people were wrong. It was something she didn't understand. At random times, she saw visions of things that would play out as exact in reality as they would when they first appeared in her mind. Jesse called it a gift. To Lily, it was inconstant and confusing, only causing frustration most times, so she did her best to suppress it. _

_After a hiatus of not talking to each other for almost two years, Lily had a vision - coincidently, her first vision since she'd stopped talking to Jesse. In the vision she saw Jesse die, and she recognized it happening in Annville._

_Immediately, she rushed to his aid, only to discover he had a gift of his own now - Genesis. She spent the first couple days struggling to communicate with Jesse, being as they'd never made amends since they separated. Lily stayed committed and found herself spending more time in Annville than anticipated._

_One night, after a group of vampire vigilantes ambushed Cassidy, Lily ended up in the middle of it all, getting terribly hurt. All while Cassidy revealed himself as a vampire in a brutal manner._

_Feeling somewhat responsible for her getting messed up in his disaster of a life, Cassidy (in his eyes) "rescued" Lily from the clutches of the Annville hospital in hopes to smooth things over. _

_In a typical Cassidy fashion, things did not smooth over as anticipated. In her weak and vulnerable state, he condoned her desire to drink whisky in his company after taking heavy medication. He'd essentially (and accidentally) promoted an overdose._

_Luckily for Lily, this was not Cassidy's first accidental overdose. There was an instance - an accident - where Cassidy had discovered his blood had a unique affect on humans. (A story not yet told in this fic)._

_In a panic, Cassidy took a single drop of blood and laced a glass of water, doing his best to get Lily to ingest it. _

_When she did, everything changed. Not only was she instantly sober and coherent, her broken bones and bruises healed in minutes. Above all that, she craved more. She was suddenly entirely reliant and attracted to Cassidy's blood, igniting the dysfunctional relationship they developed very quickly._

_They're bound together by a reliance of blood, a confusing situation neither of them truly understand. One thing they know for sure is that if Lily doesn't get her fill, it takes both a psychological and biological toll on her, proving to send her into distress and more than likely killing her. _

_It doesn't take much, a simple drop every day or so, but nonetheless, it's a situation that has yet to be truly acknowledged. _

_Jesse had no idea about his sister and his best friends relationship, let alone the crazy and absurd extent of it. Until recently, though all he really knows is that Lily and Cassidy have a romantic relationship developed, Jesse has no idea how complicated things really are between them. _

_Things blew up fast and Jesse found himself incredibly hurt, separating completely from those closest to him, tunnel visioning into the Grails request for him to play as the Messiah. _

_A phone call changed all that in an instant - Tulip had been shot. With Tulip dead, Jesse has no choice but to bring the gang to Angelville - a place he worked so hard to have wiped from their lives to begin with._

_Lily knows little to nothing about the Custer family history, not even knowing their parents as they died when she was very young. Jesse made sure of that. _

_Now it's time to visit Angelville to save Tulip and get some answers. _

* * *

**ZERO HOPES PART TWO**

* * *

**IRELAND **

**ONE MONTH IN THE FUTURE**

Lily sat in the hotel room. It may be have been silent, but on the inside, her mind was so busy it was impossible to silence. Her stomach was twisted in a tight knot that hurt and her heart was racing. She had never had her entire being so riddled with anxiety. As reached for the bottle of vodka, her hand was shaking. The bottle was already open as she began to pour the alcohol into the glass in front of her. With her shaky grasp, a good amount of the vodka missed and ended up on the counter the glass sat on.

She placed the bottle back down against the counter top with a harder than anticipated **clank** and leaned over in defeat, stifling a sob as she struggled to calm herself - feeling as if she'd be out of control forever.

Behind her, the door opened. She didn't have to look to know who it was, but she turned around slowly anyways.

Just as she expected, it was Seamus.

Like Cassidy, Seamus was a vampire. He was tall, well built and had piercing blue eyes, however, at this moment they seemed awfully grey.

He was a new acquaintance, but a proven trusted ally at the very least.

While keeping his eyes on hers, he closed and locked the deadbolt on the large door behind him.

"They jus' landed." He assured softly, staying still in place, "They'll be 'ere in less than an hour." His accent was much thicker than she was used to, being as Seamus had spent most of his time in Ireland, unlike Cassidy.

With another heavy tear streaming down each side of her face, Lily held her breath and nodded, choking back another sob. She turned back around and exhaled through her mouth, her nose too stuffed from as much crying she'd done to breathe out of it. Every breath she took, her chest felt like it was going to collapse it was so incredibly tight. Lifting the glass up to her mouth, she swallowed a gulp of warm vodka.

Seamus found himself sitting on a chair at her side. He waited a few moments before leaning closer to her. Carefully, he placed a hand on her arm, "Proinsias..." Seamus started, trailing off. He took another few seconds to think before breathing in, "He's a tough son'ova bitch. 'Es been through nearly it all. This isn't the first time 'es got 'imself into somethin' like this."

His words proved to be empty and an unsuccessful attempt to reassure her. Stifling another sob, she drank from the glass again. He leaned towards her even closer, "It _is _the first time I've ever seen anyone give such a damn about 'im."

Lily finally lifted her eyes to Seamus. Her eyes were sore and she could hardly see straight. The tears kept pouring out, following the red tracks they'd burned into her cheeks. Her heart was beating so erratically he could hear it as if it was his own.

Readjusting himself to face her completely, he moved her hand to put the glass of vodka down and grabbed each of her hands. He took a deep breath, staring into her eyes, "We'll find 'im." He assured in pure confidence, "If these two people y'called t'come 'ere are _anythin_' like ye..." Seamus raised his brows at her before narrowing his eyes, "Those bastards who took Proinsias don't stand a bloody chance."

* * *

**PRESENT DAY**

**HIGHWAY TO ANGELVILLE**

The couple hours of driving out of New Orleans consisted of silence between the all of them.

Jesse, Lily and Cassidy were all sitting in the front of Tulips car - Lily in the middle of her brother and Cassidy, of course. Tulip's body was laid out in the back seat and Lily did her best not to think about that fact. She noticed Cassidy at her side look back at Tulip many times, his eyes were incredibly red beneath his sunglasses. He seemed less sad and more frustrated as time went on.

When Lily glanced at her brother on her other side, he seemed somewhat unfazed. Part of that made her hopeful - his lack of grief and loss was a sign that he was so confident he could bring her back that he wasn't bothering with grieving that she was gone... The other part of her was terrified - was the reason he was so unbothered because Jesse lost himself and his mind completely?

It made her all too confused to really take in any facts, she wasn't sure what to think or believe about anything.

Inside the mind of Jesse was chaos, imagining that he was willingly bringing himself back to Angelville - a terrible place he'd tried so long to escape what felt like many lifetimes ago - he risked and sacrificed a lot to be free from Angelville, and here he was now rushing as fast back there as he could, hoping that his plead for help would work. To make matters worse, he was bringing his sister into it after he'd done everything in his being to avoid that entirely. He dreaded opening up this side of their lives to her but would also do anything to get Tulip back.

Cassidy had spoke his mind in his fury and meant it. He hated Jesse in this moment. If Lily hadn't made it so clear she needed them to be civil he would be acting a lot more irrationally, instead he had to use his imagination to vision the things he wanted to do. It was only a matter of time before Lily finally let reality hit her and soon her back would be to her brother for good and she would be all Cassidy's. In efforts to keep his mind leveled, he imagined where he would take her first.

The only time any of them spoke was when Jesse asked his sister a question and it was about four hours into their drive, "Have you seen anything?" Lily blinked, turning her head to him. He moved his attention from the road briefly and peaked his eyes over his sunglasses frames, to catch hers, "Your gift." He specified, "Has it shown you anything?"

Lily barely shook her head, "No."

Her premonition wasn't something she could control and Jesse knew that. It had been nearly absent since she'd overdosed on Cassidy's blood many weeks before.

That had been the closest she felt to the internal "gift" as Jesse referred it in her entire life and she was convinced that she'd driven it out of her completely.

Jesse turned his head fully forward again, straightening his lips, "You tell me if anything happens. Or anything out of normal you notice happening with you at all." Jesse requested, "Where we're going, it's more than likely. Just.." Jesse struggled to find the right words, knowing how vague everything was sounding, "Come to me if there's anything, alright?"

Lily didn't know what any of that meant, but nonetheless, she simply nodded, turning entirely forward again as Cassidy exhaled deeply at her other side.

As they reached their destination, a large metal gate guarded the opening of the long, seemingly never ending driveway into the property. Massive trees created a wall all the way down the driveway. Before they entered, Lily's stomach dropped when her eye caught a massive metal sign that displayed ANGELVILLE appeared along with the symbol Lily had recognized as Jesse's tattoo.

She remembered the poster she'd come across weeks ago with Cassidy. She had been right - it _was_ connected somehow - but how exactly?

When they drove past the front entrance it felt like they passed through a wall. The air was heavy and suddenly there was a sour smell. The eeriness multiplied by a thousand and they all felt their hairs stand on their skin.

Lily felt a freezing chill through her body and she wanted desperately to ask Jesse what this place was, but her voice was gone. For the first time in a long time, Lily felt scared.

After the car skidded to a stop, Jesse moved very quickly, grabbing Tulip out of the back and heading for the large house. Cassidy opened the door at his side and had to pull on Lily to get her to move.

Practically bursting down the front door, Jesse was already screaming, "Gran'ma!"

As they followed his lead, Cassidy could see how entirely shocked Lily was at the discovery that this was their grandmother's home - or that they had a grandmother to begin with. In an instant, Lily's skin was tinted a different color and too many things overwhelmed her. She stared up in the large front entrance area of the massive home. There was hardly any natural light to be seen. As her eyes slowly trailed up further, following the staircase upwards until they stopped. At the very top, a figure caught her eye and she felt her stomach turn.

At the same time, Jesse carefully placed Tulip's body down on a nearby couch, before standing up and turning back to Cassidy and Lily, "Wait here." Jesse ordered. He saw his sister staring straight up - her face white and her eyes glazed over as Cassidy was quick to try and grab her attention, "Are you alright?" Jesse heard him ask softly.

"Gran'ma!" Jesse continued walking into the other rooms.

Finally he found her. It was easy to miss her, she blended perfectly into the dark, back corner of the room. Jesse readjusted himself, taking a deep breath and preparing for what Hell was to come, "Gran'ma." He said softly, "I need you. My girlfriend, the love of my life, Tulip... she's dead."

Still not moving from her spot, Jesse's grandmother sat completely still and silent.

He shifted his weight, "_You_ can bring her back, though." His voice hit the back wall flatly. With no return of conversation he stood there in the middle of the room feeling alone, "Right?" He asked in hopes to get a response.

When his grandmother still said nothing, he took a deep breath, rubbing his chin as he stared at the ground a moment. Jesse's patience was diminishing quickly and his softer tone was fading. Taking a sharp breath he stared back towards the dark outline of her, "You need to help me." Jesse stated.

Finally, Jesse's grandmother made a movement. He saw one of her long, bony fingers reach out of the darkness, pressing on a button on the wheelchair she sat on.

As she slowly rolled forward, he could make out a better image of her. She looked even more awful than he remembered. The last fifteen years or so had not been kind to her. Her cheeks were sunken in, her skin was nearly transparent - covered in all sorts of marks and spots, her skin looked like a thin, withered cloth draped over her veins as they bulged out at every glance of her.

Finally she came to a stop a few feet in front of him.

His eyes caught hers - they were nearly black and her thin lips were twisted as if she'd just tasted something sour. They quivered in a raging way as she finally spoke, "To help an ungrateful individual who turned their back on the people who needed them most." Her brow lowered even more as her eyes proved to be able to show even more fury, "For that I don't need to do _fuck all_." She spat.

Jesse knew it was useless to try and justify and try to apologize. He cut to the chase, "I'll do anything."

His grandmother didn't change her expression on her face, only straightened a bit. Closing her eyes, "That's a big, big word for you to be using to me."

With his shoulders dropping slightly, Jesse nodded, his eyes showing the true desperation he was suffering from, "I know."

There were several seconds of uncomfortable silence before she finally hissed under her breath, "You know exactly what I want."

He did. She wanted him bound to her. She wanted total control over him. It didn't matter to him, he'd do anything to get Tulip back.

"Fine." Jesse said immediately, instantly fuming from her selfishness.

When she didn't move, and he noticed the malicious streak in her eye he raised his brow impatiently, "Well, let's do it then. Tulip's only got so much time, right?"

"No," His grandmother hissed, "Not just you."

Jesse felt a cold chill through his body. His voice was clenched due to the lump in his throat, "No." He choked out.

"You brought her here." His grandmother hissed in a satisfied manner, "I felt the both of you long ago. Together, you're much easier to sense." She took a deep, hissy breath through her nose as if she was smelling something delicious.

Jesse shook his head, and suddenly there was a harsh bite to his tone, "You have me, I'd say that's more than fair."

Moving her head side to side, his grandmother straightened her mouth and clasped her hands together, unbothered, "You can spend the time we've got left to save your girl arguing a senseless cause or you can do as I say."

Jesse glared daggers at her until she finally lifted her cold eyes. Her glance told him that she knew she had him wrapped around her finger. In defeat, he let a heavy huff escape him, feeling his stomach drop.

With a heavy heart Jesse stepped out of the room, Lily's eyes looking up to him immediately, "I need you." He said.

There was a broken look in his eye and it only worried her even more.

Cassidy watched her stand up from the bench they'd found a place on beside Tulip. He grabbed her arm and she turned to look down at him.

"Cass." Jesse said softly from the doorway, "She's going to be fine." He assured, "We gotta hurry if Tulip stands a chance." Jesse urged.

With major doubt, Cassidy looked back at Lily, feeling worried for her and the entire situation. Her eyes told him she wanted to do anything had it meant giving Tulip a chance to come back. Reluctantly, he let go of her.

As the Custers stepped into the room, Jesse closed the door behind them. When Lily saw the woman that was their grandmother, she was shocked.

Studying her horrifying appearance, Lily felt sick. When her grandmother began moving her wheelchair, she got nervous.

"Wow." Their grandmother hissed, moving her chair until she was directly in front of Lily. "Look at you." The way she had said that wasn't as endearing as it should have been coming from a grandmother. It had a bite to it.

Jesse watched as their grandmother smiled in the purest form of evil satisfaction, "Give gran'ma a hug." She growled.

Unable to hide how incredibly uncomfortable she felt, Lily twitched on spot. As her grandmother opened her arms, Lily noted how very fragile she seemed. Her boney arms were like twigs and Lily could see every bone pop out of her chest area. Awkwardly, Lily leaned over slowly. When she felt her grandmothers seemingly fragile arms wrap around her, she felt entirely constricted. Though she had seemed weak and broken, her embrace proved the complete opposite.

Lily felt winded, choking a bit as she struggled to catch her breath. Her heart raced as her desperate eyes found Jesse's, who's expression said it all. He had tears welling up in his eyes and his face was red for many reasons of different emotions - but Lily could see in his eyes something she hadn't seen in them before that worried her the most.

He was scared too.


	2. Our Blood

Madame L'Angelle moved her rickety wheelchair to a nearby table, pulling out a tattered piece of cloth and placing it on the surface before lifting a large, ornate looking knife from the drawer at her side.

Jesse approached the other side of the table, standing in front of their grandmother as he looked to his sister, waving a hand to encourage her to come to his side.

Their grandmother's voice was enough to send chills through Lily as she spoke, "I trust you'd do anything for this girl as well." She stated. With a simple nod, Lily stood still. Lily's compliance was an important piece for the exchange to work. Jesse would have been surprised at Lily's complete submissiveness, but given the situation, he also wasn't shocked Lily would give into anything just to be able to give Tulip another chance - even if Lily didn't understand anything that was going on.

Madame L'Angelle's lips curled into a small smile at Lily, before her glance moved to Jesse, "Well." She sat back, expecting Jesse to take the lead. Lily stared in equal amounts of confusion and worry as she stared at the knife - was one of them going to have to die to bring Tulip back? She felt her heart in her throat as Jesse reached his hand out.

Jesse grabbed the knife, holding it to his right hand first and slicing a deep enough cut in his palm. His sister watched as his face scrunched in discomfort, keeping his cut hand palm facing up. Lily watched the dark crimson blood begin to pool in her brothers hand while he held the knife in his other hand and passed it to Lily.

With Jesse's blood coating the blade, she scrunched her brow in a bit of disgust. Her brother leaned closer to her, speaking as quiet as she'd ever heard, "Our blood has to mix." He explained.

Unable to hide the disturbance in her face, she slowly grabbed the knife and held it in her hand. She wasn't capable of doing what Jesse just had. Her eyes looked up to his and he understood immediately, "Here." He whispered, taking the knife back as she held her palm upward.

Jesse placed the blade against it, pushing hard enough to get the job done. Lily winced, the slice hurting a lot more than expected. "Sorry." Jesse whispered, placing the knife down as he took his bloody hand and clasped it with hers. There was a chilling shock that went through them as their hands entwined with one another's.

Lily could feel the wound gush at the same rate her heart was pulsing. Lily felt sick at the thought of their open wounds touching, but did her best to try and keep her mind on the fact that everything that was happening was for Tulip. At this point, her skeptics of Tulip coming back to life were far out the window, otherwise this entire situation would send her into a panic.

Jesse moved their joint hands further in front of them over top the fabric handkerchief laying on the table and let several drops of their combined blood fall onto it.

It was a sight that made Madame L'Angelle the most content she'd felt in what felt like a lifetime.

Jesse kept his hand locked with Lily's as he pulled their hands between them at their sides. The two of them stood hand in hand, watching their grandmother reach her bony hands outward, pulling back the blood spattered cloth as her fingers crinkled it in, grasping onto it with intensity as her eyes glowed a devious red.

With her eyes glued to the handkerchief, Lily watched her grandmother grasp it harder. She was talking to Jesse, but Lily couldn't make out the words. She felt incredibly lightheaded until eventually Jesse snapped her out of it, "C'mon, we gotta go." He pulled on her hand he held tight to.

When they left the room, Cassidy was sitting in the same place he was before, however now he had a gun being held up to his head.

Jesse and Lily stood hand in hand still, their eyes adjusting to see who it was holding a gun to Cassidy.

The man was smaller, about half the size of Cassidy, hunched over with torn up overalls and a stained wife beater. He had little to no hair on his head, but the hair that was there was there was long and wiry. He had bulgy eyes and a pointed chin, with teeth that looked that they'd never seen any form of dental hygiene. He barred his teeth and it almost sounded like was growling - he looked like a rapid animal.

"TC." Jesse stated lowly.

TC looked at Jesse, his brow low and his eyes glaring, before finally recognizing him, "Jesse?..." He asked. Suddenly, there was a spark of excitement in his tone, "Little Jesse?!" He lowered the gun from Cassidy's head as he grinned, showing off his brown teeth, "Ha! I never would'a thought!"

Cassidy had smelt both Jesse and Lily's blood as soon as it was drawn from them. He had been worried and extremely antsy to find out what was going on, and couldn't be patient any longer. As he moved from his spot, TC raised the gun again suspiciously, a motion to which Cassidy wasn't phased by.

"Lower the gun, TC." Jesse groaned, "He's with us."

TC listened to Jesse, lowering the gun again, "He was gettin' a bit unruly earlier." He justified his action of holding a gun to Jesse's friend.

Lily was surprised Cassidy had kept his composure the past several minutes, especially with blood involved.

Approaching Lily's side, Cassidy's eyes caught her hand holding her brothers and he noticed where the blood was coming from. "You alright?" He asked, his eyes scanning the rest of her. She wasn't sure, but she nodded anyway. She looked up to him for only a moment as her eyes caught Tulip laid out not far behind him.

She turned to Jesse, "What now?"

"Who's this?" TC asked curiously. Jesse shifted his eyes, "It's Lily, TC." He stated lowly. TC's eyes lit up, "No shit! Ha!" He laughed loudly, "Wow." He exhaled. Jesse felt Lily's grasp get tighter to his hand as he shook his head at TC, "We don't have time right now, TC." Jesse hissed, "We gotta go."

Lily remembered their grandmother had told Jesse a list of things needed in order to bring Tulip back, not that Lily knew what any of it meant. Jesse felt Lily's grasp get even tighter, almost hurting him. He stared down at their hands, "I think that's good." He said under his breath, "We can let go now, Lily." Lily snapped out of her trance and notice her hand clenching as hard as it was onto his. "Oh." She whispered, clearing her throat.

"This is gonna be uncomfortable." He warned, and he was right, but not the way she thought. She'd thought it would be painful to move dried blood from the fresh wound, but instead it was her entire insides that hurt when they began releasing their grasps.

As they pulled their hands apart, the blood followed between their palms in thick, stringy strands. Jesse stepped back, proving just how far the strands were stretching. In complete awe, Cassidy watched as Lily was just as equally in shock.

Lily felt like the core of her was being pulled on through her body. Using her free hand, she leaped forward to close the distance Jesse had created and grabbed his hand, pushing it back into hers, "No, stop!" She gasped.

"Lily." Jesse shook his head, "We have to. Now."

"No, no, no." Lily said in sudden panic, feeling her insides flipping upside down. Cassidy felt helpless watching Lily struggling. It was clear by the way Jesse was reacting that he knew what to expect, but she hadn't. "Wot are y'doin' to her?" Cassidy yelled.

Lily shook her head faster, "Jesse, no- this doesn't feel right." She begged.

"Lily!" Jesse yelled, trying to stop his sister from her near panic attack, "We need to save Tulip." Jesse said sternly, "We can't do that until we separate."

TC stood just feet away, entirely entertained by the unexpected and exciting company.

Jesse took a quick breath and lowered his voice, "We need to save Tulip, Lily." He said, "She's only got so much time." He stared into her eyes and she finally found it inside her to control herself.

She hated not knowing anything about what was going on, but she had to keep her head level and her natural stubbornness needed to stay suppressed.

It only took a couple seconds for her to calm back down.

Finally she pulled away the same time as Jesse, proving to put Jesse into equal amounts of discomfort. The strands of blood between them got less stringy as they merged together in more of a single rope-like structure, stretching out more and more. Cassidy couldn't believe his eyes. On the other side of the spectacle, TC cackled in pure amusement.

Eventually, the thick strand snapped in the middle and the two of them fell backwards to the ground in opposite directions. Cassidy was already close enough to Lily to break her fall. Jesse hit the ground with a thud.

He lifted his head up and they all watched as one side of the broken strand slithered it's way back into Jesse's wound on his hand all while the same happened on the other half towards Lily.

Staring at her hand, Lily watched the mysterious blood rope slink into the wound before the wound shut completely. It was still marked, but it was closed. She laid in Cassidy's arms a moment as he watched the whole ordeal from behind her, his face as disturbed as hers. Lily exhaled, "What the fuck."

* * *

Jesse had moved Tulip from the main entrance area of the house into the room he and Lily were just in. Madame L'Angelle had set up a bed area for Tulip to lay on and she'd already begun taking out the things needed to begin the process of bringing her back.

Taking his hand, Jesse gently touched the side of Tulip's face. It was cold, and all of her muscles had relaxed entirely. She looked nothing like herself. Jesse felt his heart wrench as he imagined her never making it back for one moment. He was quick to shake that feeling and focus again, clearing his throat and blinking away the tears that had began welling up in his eyes as he rushed back out to the entrance area of the house.

"Let's go." Jesse urged to Cassidy, "Where's Lily?" He asked. Cassidy stood with his arms crossed against a wall, beside a door as he leaned his head slightly towards it, "Washroom." He said shortly. He had hardly glanced at Jesse when he spoke to him. His brows were low and his lips were in a flat line. Jesse knew he wasn't Cassidy's favorite person at this moment, but there was no time to get into all the things to fix that now.

Jesse nodded, his hands on his hips, "Alright. We're going to have to separate to get more done."

Cassidy looked back at Jesse, "I'm not goin' anywhere without her, I hope you know that." He warned.

Holding his immediate response on the tip of his tongue, Jesse thought about it. Arguing wasn't getting anywhere and Lily was in a state of shock that wasn't exactly ideal for her to out alone. Jesse exhaled, "Alright." He said lowly.

Cassidy shifted on spot and turned his head as he heard Lily opening the bathroom door at his side, when she opened it both her brother and Cassidy were staring at her. "You alright?" Cassidy asked. Lily nodded, pressing her lips into a smile that clearly wasn't genuine, "Ya," She cleared her throat, "Where do we need to go?"

Jesse shifted on spot, "I need you two to go out and grab all of Tulip's favorite things."

Both of them scrunched their brows. It was strange to both of them how well rehearsed Jesse seemed to be with everything that had happened so far. "Her favorite things?" Cassidy asked skeptically.

"That's easy enough." Lily said quietly. Cassidy nodded, "We'll take Tulip's car, then?" He suggested.

They all flinched on spot when a voice echoed from the other side of the room. Madame L'Angelle spoke, none of them noticing her in a dark corner. Lily wondered with her chair as loud and creaky as it was how no one heard her, "She should stay here." Marie commanded, looking at Lily, "Her energy is gonna help."

Lily and Cassidy's eyes shifted to Jesse, who wanted to argue, but knew better. He swallowed, "Fine."

He worried what their grandmothers intentions were, whether she was lying just to get Lily alone or if she was telling the truth and her energy really was going to help the process of bringing Tulip back, but it didn't matter either way. They were wrapped around her finger, and she had control, which made Jesse the most upset.

If time wasn't running out for Tulip, Jesse would've been able to find a way around it, but that wasn't the case.

"Then I'm stayin' 'ere too, then." Cassidy demanded. Jesse turned his head to Cassidy and sighed in frustration, "Cass."

Cassidy shook his head, his eyes reminding Jesse of the warning he'd just given him. Jesse turned towards him, getting closer as he struggled to keep Cassidy's eyes locked onto his, "We need to get these things, Cass." Jesse said impatiently, "If you stay here it's going to take me twice the time to get all of this done and Tulip can't afford the extra time right now." Cassidy's eyes shifted to the ground as the conflict hit him like a brick wall.

Lily nodded at her brother before looking to Cassidy, "He's right. You should go."

Cassidy lifted his eyes from the ground to Lily at his side, not taking much to finally listen as he exhaled deeply, "Fine, then." He said reluctantly. Lily grabbed his arm, knowing how hard it was for him to comply with Jesse after all the mixed emotions going on.

Cassidy made a point to prove how supportive he was as he turned to Lily, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tight, "I'll get this all done n'get back right away, alright?"

"Hurry." Lily urged, squeezing him harder.

As Cassidy grabbed the umbrella he'd brought in, Jesse's eyes caught Lily's. She nodded, letting him know she was fine and that she was eager for his return as well.

"Both of you call me if anything goes wrong." Lily ordered, a tone in her voice that was more her familiar self, making both Cassidy and Jesse happy to hear. Both of them nodded caught her eyes once more before leaving, and Lily couldn't help but feel the entire temperature of the room change entirely as she was left alone with her grandmother and Tulip's corpse.


	3. Pure

_Thanks so much to everyone for the postive feedback on part two! I enjoy reading your reviews. Normally I don't like making chapters this long but I found it hard to do in this case and didn't want the reader to lose momentum._

* * *

From the other side of the dark and cold room, Lily stood at the window, her eyes wandering back to Madame L'Angelle as she watched her opened up another vile of something, this time smoke poured out as she popped the cork open, dumping it into a bowl as she had already mixed a variety of unknown substances together.

"Come sit down." Her grandmother ordered, not looking away from what she was doing with her hands, squeezing something that crunched in her grasp.

Lily hadn't come close to the area Tulip was laid down, let alone look at her body, "I'm fine here." Lily said quietly.

"You need to be closer to her." Madame L'Angelle insisted. When Lily didn't respond or move, her grandmother lost patience immediately, "Or suit yourself and stay over there and be useless. Not helping her worth shit." She spat angrily.

The uncomfortable silence was especially chilling. After a few seconds, Lily finally turned, listening to what her grandmother ordered her to do and sat on a chair beside Tulip. Lily refrained from looking at Tulip's body as she kept her eyes glued to whatever it was Madame L'Angelle had her hands on. There was a concoction of ingredients unknown to Lily inside of the large bowl in front of her.

Noticing Lily's attention, Madame L'Angelle raised a thin brow, "Curious?"

Lily's eyes moved up to hers a moment, not sure how to respond.

There was a cold chill that hit Lily's neck and she couldn't help but feel like something was behind her, like she was being watched. She turned quickly just to be sure and saw nothing, her eyes scanning the doorway and far corner of the room she'd just been standing.

Her grandmothers voice pulled her attention again, "Judging by how utterly naive you are to everything around you, I take it Jesse never told you anythin' about your family." She specified bitterly. Once again, Lily wasn't sure what the right way to respond was, so she didn't.

"Hm." Madame L'Angelle kept her eyes on another ingredient she pulled out, a large, black withered stick from a long tube. It looked like old meat. As she studied it, she continued speaking, "Can't say that surprises me. Jesse's a selfish boy. Hmph." She huffed as she shook her head sourly.

With a bad taste in her mouth, Lily held her breath. The fact she'd just referred to Jesse as a 'boy' put an idea in her head just of how their grandmother saw him through her eyes.

What made her think she knew anything about Jesse to talk about him that way? Lily felt a small spark of anger ignite in her, and she did her best to try to smother it right away.

Lily watched as her grandmother bit down on the long, dehydrated piece of whatever the hell it was in her hand and she found herself cringing in disgust. Her grandmother chewed and spat it into the bowl. Scrunching her face slightly, Lily asked, "What is all this? What are you doing?"

Her grandmother hummed a moment before talking again, "What we're _doing_," She said in a tone of critique, "is bringing your friend back from the other side." She held a stern finger up, "Now, that's not an in-the-norm kind of thing, as I'm sure you can imagine, so it takes some bending of nature to pull it off." Madame L'Angelle interrupted her own dialogue as she held the bowl up over top of Tulip's body towards Lily, "Spit." She ordered. Lily took a moment to look into her grandmother's cold, dark eyes before she finally did as she was told, leaning forward from her chair and spitting over top of Tulip into the bowl. Lily was shocked when the substances inside sparked at the reaction to her saliva, flinching on spot as she sat back down.

Her grandmothers answer didn't explain anything to Lily, just opened more questions in her mind. She took a shallow and frustrated breath.

"We are calling her soul back to her," Her grandmother continued, "Which is one of key parts in doin' this... but she's also gotta come back on her own." She placed a finger into the bowl, licking the black, tar-like substance as she stifled a choke before she nodded, "She needs things on this side to persuade her to do that." She moved her tongue around in her mouth as she took a bony finger and pointed at Lily, "That's your job."

Lily shook her head, "How do I do that?"

"You're doing _that _right now." Madame L'Angelle stated impatiently, "Although you're dense and blind to everything that's going on..." She groaned bitterly, "Your energy remains strong. She can feel your pain and emotions, and the more you open up the louder you'll be for her to find the right way back."

Still stiff as a board, Lily took all the backhanded comments her grandmother had delivered as a grain of salt. Usually she wouldn't stand being talked to in that fashion by anyone, but she was overwhelmed with shock of many things and sleep deprived, making it harder to find her usual fight inside of her. Above all of that, she was frightened of the strange environment she was in, not sure she was in the position to be mouthing off the person who's Tulip's life depended on.

She tried to take as deep a breath as she could, which proved not to be that much as she finally wandered her eyes to Tulip. She was wearing the dress she'd just given her less than two days ago, but it felt like a year had gone by since.

There was blood all over it and suddenly she remembered how she felt when Tulip went back into the apartment building. How beautiful she looked as the dress fluttered in the wind behind her and how quickly things changed in the matter of seconds.

Lily finally looked at Tulip's face. Her skin was a terrible color. A color Lily had never seen. Her once beautiful features were sunken in and she looked nothing like what Tulip _should_ look like. Lily remembered the last moments that Tulip struggled to stay alive on that kitchen floor and it was all hitting her so suddenly again. She stared at Tulip's closed eyes and the hair on Lily's skin stood straight up as she almost expected Tulip to open her dead eyes. It wasn't a relieving image for Lily - it was a terrifying idea.

The thoughts of how demented this position was consumed LIly's mind. Tulip's corpse laid in front of her merely as a shell to what was once someone she loved so much. The dark energy in the room was very obvious and there was an unnerving feeling that consumed Lily.

Madame L'Angelle's harsh voice tore Lily out of the chaos raging inside her head, "For Christ sake.." She hissed, "You're not doin' her any favors being so God damned closed up."

Lily felt a sense of overwhelming take over her as her grandmother belittled her again and again. She was glaring and talking through her teeth as if she was scolding her, "If you give two shits about whatever her name is..."

For the first time Lily felt her blood boil, and it happened in an instant. That little spark of anger inside of her was suddenly ignited again and before she knew it her voice was raised, "Her name is _Tulip_!"

Right when Lily said her name, a chandelier dropped from the other side of the room and crashed to the ground.

Jumping up from her seat, Lily turned in sheer fright, while Madame L'Angelle grinned in pleasure. Her plan had worked, she'd broke through Lily's shield and seen just how capable she was, and best of all, Lily was entirely clueless to it, "Yes." She hissed, "It's working. Keep going. Keep talking to her."

Lily felt her heart racing as she stared at the broken chandelier. The anger that was just burning inside her had been put out immediately and replaced with fright, "Uh," She tried to calm herself, slowly lowering herself back down to her seat as she felt herself shaking, "Um... Tulip." She swallowed, before clearing her throat and trying her best to keep her voice from wavering, "I'm here." Grabbing her cold, dead hand, Lily closed her eyes and did her best to keep her nerves suppressed, "I'm here."

There was a chill that ran through her and she felt far past uneasy. She felt herself beginning to shake, and did her best to take a few deep breaths. Jesse and Cassidy couldn't come back soon enough.

* * *

It had been a couple hours and Cassidy had texted multiple times to make sure everything was alright. Lily's phone buzzed yet again and she was relieved to see Cassidy's text delivering some news instead of asking her if she was alright.

**On my way back now going as fast as I can**

Lily responded with a short 'ok' text, her eyes looking at the long string of previous texts from Cassidy asking if she was doing ok every twenty minutes.

Madame L'Angelle's voice caught Lily by surprise, "Irish-" She paused as Lily looked up, "He sure loves you." She said, in a tone that was more condescending than admiring, "Didn't want to leave you. Even for a second." She noted.

Lily's brow scrunched a tad, wondering if the topic of Cassidy was a coincidence or whether her grandmother was somehow reading her mind, "Yea." Lily said shortly, her voice breaking as she cleared her throat again. She tucked her phone away as her eyes moved back to Tulip.

Madame L'Angelle turned her head, "You don't love him?"

With her eyes shooting back up to her grandmother, Lily shook her head, "What? I never said that." She said defensively.

Madame L'Angelle noticed the sudden bite in her voice and continued with the game of pressing her buttons, "Hm. I suppose your response just didn't give me that impression." She prodded, "It's alright to be afraid to have your heart broken." She continued to poke.

With her brow scrunching in annoyance, Lily pulled her head back, "No. I've had my heart broken many times. That is not something I'm afraid of."

Her grandmother spoke to immediately, almost over top of her, "Has Jesse ever broken your heart?" It was a question that came almost out of nowhere and blindsided Lily.

When Lily didn't answer, her grandmother continued, "He broke _my _heart." Madame L'Angelle shook her head slowly, and regardless of her heartbroken tone, there was no sympathy in Lily for her, "But I would bet anythin' he never told you about all of that..."

Her grandmother trailed off, hoping she would be eager to hear more. Instead of curious, Lily was defensive, "He's broken my heart, too." She asserted, "And I'm sure I've broken his just as much, if not more."

Lily's counter arguing was just as good. Now that Madame L'Angelle had her vulnerable and emotional, it was easier for her to get into her head. Madame L'Angelle could see into her, even for just a moment, "You know don't you? You've felt it."

Feeling a bit delusional, Lily shook her head slowly, her grandmothers eyes suddenly piercing into hers, "Felt.. what?"

"It's in your blood." Madame L'Angelle hissed, "I felt it as soon as I had it in my hands." With a hissing breath, Madame L'Angelle let out a disturbing moan, "Ah, yes it's so pure."

Continuing to shake her head, Lily swallowed, trying to sound somewhat strong, "What are you talking about?" Suddenly, Lily could feel something, it was so similar to the feeling she got before her premonition hit - but it was uncomfortable, like it was stuck. Like a sneeze that you couldn't get out. She closed her eyes, "What's happening?"

Suddenly, flashes of images appeared in her mind. They were broken and hard to make out, making it that much more disorienting.

The touch of someone on Lily's shoulder caught her attention, putting the cluster of shattered images to an abrupt stop. She gasped, turning to see a woman standing behind her - it was her mother. Lily felt herself go as stiff as stone, staring in complete awe.

When her lips moved, Lily wasn't expecting to hear Cassidy's voice come through, "Lily."

Judging by the look on Lily's face, Cassidy could tell he'd frightened her, "Sorry," He said, "Were you sleeping?" When she didn't respond, his brow narrowed. She wasn't reacting to him the way she should've and he began to worry, "Lily." He repeated.

He had no idea what she was seeing, and she had no idea that her mother wasn't actually standing there.

Lily blinked a few times and suddenly, the image of her mother morphed into Cassidy. "Cass-" She choked out finally.

With his brow furrowing with concern, he nodded, "Did y'pass out?"

_Pass out_? Lily thought. She'd closed her eyes for only a moment, and not by choice. Lily should have been able to hear Tulip's car coming from a mile away, but she hadn't. She had been completely out of touch with her surroundings. Lily remembered the terrible feeling she had and the burning sensation of her grandmothers eyes. She turned quickly from Cassidy and back towards where her grandmother had been, but she was no longer there. With her head spinning in confusion Lily shook her head, turning back towards Cassidy. She had to clear her throat before she could get any words out, "Where'd she-"

Suddenly, Lily has a sharp pain in her gut, she leaned over a bit, noticing the pain traveling around her body. "What's the matter?" Cassidy asked, noticing her discomfort immediately. He dropped the bags and boxes in his arms and grabbed her.

"I don't know." She sighed. As Cassidy leaned down at her side, he realized it had been almost two days since she'd had a dose of his blood. Her discomfort was likely the result of her body going into the withdrawal it had been known to do in the past.

Lily looked back to where her grandmother had sat and wondered where she was, "Where's-" As Lily turned back around to the door, her question to her grandmothers whereabouts was put on hold as she saw Jesse walk in. He looked battered and beat. There was sand and dirt that covered him, along with bruises and blood scattered around his face and arms.

Lily raised her brow in shock, "What happened to you?" She asked in concern. Cassidy and Jesse both noticed how incredibly hoarse her voice was. Behind Jesse, a man larger than Lily had ever seen followed in. He was grinning widely as maneuvered his body through the door frame to walk into the room. He ducked through the door frame, turning sideways as his shoulder width wouldn't have allowed him to walk in like an average person.

Speechless, Lily looked up, there were a few bangs and bruises on the large man as well. The massive stranger grinned down, "You must be Lily." He bellowed. Cassidy scrunched his brow defensively as he crouched down at Lily before he stood back up, facing the stranger, "Who th'Hell are you, now?"

Then, Madame L'Angelle's sharp voice came out of nowhere, "Jody-" Lily flinched, turning towards her grandmothers voice - and suddenly, she was back in the place she had been all along. Lily felt her head spinning faster. She'd looked for her just seconds ago and no one was there. What was happening?

"Go get TC and tell him I need some root of hemlock." Madame L'Angelle ordered, continuing with the mixture in the large bowl. With a simple nod, Jody looked to Lily once more before leaving the room. Lily hoped she'd never cross paths with Jody again, but her gut told her that was unrealistic.

As Jesse walked towards their grandmother, he handed her a vile of something Lily had no idea about. "How's it going?" He asked. His grandmother nodded back to him, "Your sister proved to make a decent lifeline to this side."

Simply nodding at their grandmother, Jesse bit his tongue, "That's good." His eyes moved to Lily. He worried how much into her their grandmother had seen. The more useful Lily proved to be, the more their grandmother would use that against her. Lily looked up to Jesse for a brief moment, hiding the fact she was struggling to keep her head on straight as things suddenly felt much heavier. She tried to get up, feeling a hundred pounds more heavy. She eventually found it in her to stand up, turning to Cassidy and looking through the boxes and bags he'd brought in.

Cassidy had done a good job in the couple of hours he was gone collecting a variety of things, Lily cycled through it, picking up a carton of cigarettes and a box of Boo Berry cereal. In the background, Jesse exchanged whatever it was he'd gone out and retrieved with their grandmother. From close to her side, Cassidy grabbed Lily's arm, "You doing ok?" He asked.

With a not-so deep breath, Lily put the carton of cigarettes and box of cereal down, staring at him a moment as he worried why she wasn't answering. Finally, she turned her head to the window, seeing the long driveway displayed in front of them.

From behind them, Jesse approached, "Hey." He said softly, "You wanna go outside and get some fresh air for a bit?" Jesse asked. Lily turned to him, her eyes flickering to Tulip as Jesse nodded, "Just take a minute. Nothing's happening right now." He assured. Her eyes locked to her brothers for a moment. Jesse had warned her she would likely see things - she wondered what he would have to say about her seeing their mother the way she had.

She wasn't even sure how to start with explaining everything that had just happened, and she wasn't convinced this was the right time or environment either, she would have to wait when they had a moment alone. Nodding back to her brother, Lily cleared her throat for what felt like the millionth time.

Cassidy nodded, his lips in a flat line and his brow low, "Yea." He nodded at Lily, "That's probably a good idea, love."

Lily continued nodding, following Cassidy's lead.

Grabbing a bag he'd brought in, Cassidy turned and let Lily walk in front, placing his hand on her back as she walked out the door of the room and Cassidy closed it behind them. He snatched the umbrella he'd placed by the front door and popped it open, grabbing the door and opening it for Lily. It was so bright outside, it nearly blinded Lily. She winced, squinting her eyes as she blindly made her way down the front steps of the large house, walking faster than usual as she passed Tulip's car, walking straight down the long driveway.

"Where are y'goin'?" Cassidy asked from behind her, shuffling a bit faster to catch up. Lily didn't respond. She was just focusing on getting as far away from the house as possible. Her stomach was all twisted and she felt ill. She stared down the driveway as it seemed to never end no matter how far they walked. There were giant trees that boarded the entire length of the gravel road. The farther down she walked the more the road seemed to waver. Soon, her mouth began watering - she was going to vomit if she didn't stop moving. With a stagger, she turned off the dirt driveway and towards one of the massive trees.

Cassidy watched as she let her weight hit the ground and she sat, catching her breath for several seconds. It made him uncomfortable seeing her willingly just sit on the patch of dirt beneath the tree, normally she would be opposed to getting any sort of scuff of her, could she control it.

Seeing Lily cut loose on her anal tendencies should've made Cassidy happy - she was always so uptight and any time she loosened up it was entertaining to him, but she wasn't unwinding in a relaxing way. She was unwinding mentally and Cassidy could she she was losing touch of herself more and more.

"Lily-" Cassidy said, walking right up to her with his umbrella still over one shoulder.

"Cassidy, for the love of fuck, _please_ do not ask me if I'm alright." She begged. It felt like she had the worst spins in the world. Taking her hands she clenched to the ground hoping to stop everything around her from moving so much.

Cassidy nodded, still standing as he took a moment to look to his side, studying just how isolated they were in Angelville. There was a slight breeze and Lily noticed it for a moment. Her throat was a little less clogged and finally her head was slowing down from the intense spinning.

Her mouth had finally stopped salivating as much as it was and she was convinced she'd avoided throwing up - for now. Cassidy shifted on spot, lighting a cigarette as he reached into the bag he'd brought out and handed Lily some water, "Here."

She looked up at him, "Thanks." Her voice was soft but it cracked as she spoke.

Grabbing the water bottle Lily was shocked at just how good it felt even just to hold. It was so cold, the outside of it was dripping with beads of heavenly condensation. Lily's thirst suddenly hit her like a tonne of bricks.

She open the bottle and began drinking it, feeling the coldness rush through her. Still standing at her side, Cassidy puffed at his smoke, "You want me to leave you alone?" He asked. Lily moved the suction of the water bottle from her mouth, her breath was short as she felt the cold water rushing through her intestines, "God, no. Don't leave me." She said quickly as she crunched her face.

He was glad at her immediate response, not believing he would've been able to leave her alone to begin with, "Alright." He said, looking around at the large shaded area and closing the umbrella as he sat at her side.

"Is that just a normal smoke?" She asked, before shaking her head and leaning to him, "You know what, I don't care." She grabbed it and put it to her mouth, taking a large drag as she hoped a good nicotine rush would give her some sort of relief.

She inhaled as her hand carefully went up to her throat, "I feel like I've been swallowing cotton balls." She complained, "Like my throat is clogged or something."

"Hmm." Cassidy hummed, "Your voice sounds like y'headlined a heavy metal music fest." He noted, hoping to get a halfhearted chuckle. When she didn't react, he stayed silent. With her mind going a million miles an hour, Lily tried to focus on the distant sounds of their surroundings. There wasn't much, but the bugs that were buzzing in the long grass were a decent distraction. Lily hand't noticed she'd powered through the whole cigarette until it was nearly burning her fingers. Raising her brow slightly, Lily put the cigarette out on the ground at her side, "I don't know what's going on with me." She rasped quietly.

Cassidy studied her a moment. It had been nearly two days and there had been no sleep or time to recharge for Lily or Jesse. "It's been a while since you've had yer usual dose." He pointed out.

Her tired eyes looked up to his - she'd forgotten entirely. Of course that would explain her pain earlier. She shook her head, "I forgot all about that." Lily stated, "It's hard keeping track of everything happening right now." Cassidy nodded, "Its not easy." He agreed, "Got some food here, too." Cassidy said, reaching into the bag and handing a variety of things over to her.

Lily nodded, "Thanks, Cass." She took what he'd given and couldn't bring herself to find any appetite in herself to even begin to eat.

Cassidy knew he should give her his blood sooner than later, but he decided to give her a moment. He took a deep breath, finding it hard to find the right words. This was just as unusual to him as it was to her, but the difference was at least he was coherent. He'd indulged in multiple blood bags while he was out and was more on his toes than he normally was, but she was burning out very quickly. The lack of sleep combined with not paying attention to her hunger or how thirsty she was only made her worse by the second. Cassidy cleared his throat quickly as he did his best to reassure her, "I know you're prolly feelin' all out of sorts wit everythin' that's happened the last coupla days. On top of it'all y'haven't ate or slept proper, so that'll do anyone in..." He began.

She nodded, staring forward. His voice was low, "But I jus want t'give you the peace of mind that I'm at my best. When I was runnin' around jus now I downed about three or four bags of blood-"

Lily looked at him sharply, "Sh." She hushed, grabbing his arm and squeezing. He raised his brow, "Wot?" He asked. "Be quiet." She whispered.

Cassidy's brow scrunched as she looked around them, "There's no one around us." He stated confidently. There was a look in her eye he didn't recognize in her. With her grip still tight onto him, she shook her head softly, "This place is really messed up, Cass." Her voice was so quiet, it was hard even for him to hear, "I-I've been hearing and seeing things. I can feel eyes on me." The tone of her voice was foreign.

Suddenly, Lily noticed how crazy she must've sounded, "I swear." She tried to assure, only sounding more insane, "I swear." She repeated.

Cassidy's brow lowered, his gut twisting with worry for her mental state, "Lily." He said sternly, "Wot happened while Jess n'I were gone?"

He could see the obvious struggle in her eyes as she tried to convey what was going on inside of her, "I-" Lily started, trying to remember how it all began, "I don't know exactly." She swallowed, "I just remember... something suddenly taking over me and I lost all concept of what was going on around me until you pulled me out of it."

Cassidy had no doubt in that but he could see Lily was on the brink of breaking, so he tried to keep things level, "Maybe y'jus passed out? You're exhausted, Lily. The mind plays all sorts o'tricks on you when you combine lack of sleep and this much emotional trauma." He tried his best to find reasoning in efforts to calm her down.

"What time did you text me?" Lily asked, grabbing her phone. An icon popped up saying her phone was nearly dead. She dismissed the notice, opening her last text from Cassidy. It had been nearly an hour ago. "Almost an hour." She stated, her voice getting a bit more panicked, "After you sent me this, I was talking to my grandmother for maybe a couple minutes and then suddenly... suddenly, I was out, and you were there. I was out for almost an hour, Cass. That's not right!" Her words were getting faster and more panicked.

"Listen to me." He said, grabbing her shoulders, "Y'need to calm down."

Lily's eyes were lit up crazily as she ignored his efforts to sooth her, "When you touched me I saw my mother." Cassidy's eyes studied hers intently as she struggled to convey what she went through, "I saw my mother and it took me a while to see it was you. Cassidy - That house -" Her mind was working at a million miles an hour and nothing was making sense out loud, "You should've seen all the shit my grandmother is doing in there. It's fucked-"

Cassidy interrupted her chaotic rambling and clenched his grasp on her tighter, "Lily. Lily- listen to me-"

She kept talking over him, "What if this is all just a big mistake? I mean, it's just not right, you know? Bringing someone back from the dead like that - it's- it's not natural. What if she's not her?"

"Take a breath-"

"What if they do bring her back, and Tulip's, like, messed up?"

"Lily-"

"I don't want to be here." Lily stated.

Cassidy stopped trying to talk over her and stared into her eyes, holding onto her tight. He watched her open her mouth again with no sound coming out. Her eyes were terrified, and she was shaking.

"Cassidy. I don't want to be here." She repeated as if she might not have said it out loud the first time.

The words rang in Cassidy's head over and over. Hardly moving on spot, Cassidy didn't move his eyes from hers, "Are you sure?" He asked.

Lily nodded slowly, and Cassidy didn't ask her twice.

Before she knew it, Cassidy had grabbed Tulips car from the front of the house and it was in front of her. She jumped into the passenger side quickly. Cassidy hit the gas before she had the door closed, and the gravel sprayed from the back tires. Lily turned to look back at the house, feeling more and more relief the farther they got from it.

"Where do you wanna go?" Cassidy asked eagerly, the gas pedal to the floor. Still staring out the back window of the car, Lily shook her head, "As far as possible from here."

As she stared at the house getting further and further, she found herself waiting for regret, for the sudden sadness of leaving Jesse and Tulip behind - but it never came. Relief began to consume her more by the second, proving to herself that this was what she wanted. Cassidy turned sharply, speeding out the gates of Angelville and hitting the road as fast as possible. With a heavy sigh, she turned to face the front of the vehicle.

Cassidy glanced at her a moment, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, "I know jus the place." He assured. Shaking his head, he stared at the road, his mind racing at the idea of the two of them out in the world with an endless amount of possibilities ahead, "I promise I'm goin' to make sure things will be better for you from here on out, alright?"

With a roller coaster of emotions brewing inside of her, Lily couldn't do much more than nod silently, squeezing Cassidy's hand almost as hard as he was squeezing hers. Her throat was still stuffy, she coughed in efforts to clear it, but it only got worse. "Ah-" She winced, her throat was so raw it was starting to hurt.

Suddenly Lily felt her throat close. She pulled her hand from Cassidy's, clenching her neck as the struggled to breathe the little bit she could.

"Lily, you alright?" He asked, trying to keep his eyes on the road while simultaneously trying to see what was happening to her. The pain in her face was obvious and she was struggling to breathe. Cassidy felt his heart drop, finding himself focusing on the road ahead of them less and less as he stared at her, reaching his hand out to touch her, "Wot's goin' on?"

When she couldn't respond, Cassidy slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop, "Hey. Hey!" He said urgently, turning completely to her. His hands were scouring her as he tried to figure out what was happening. Her brow furrowed and the last of her throat closed as she was unable to breathe at all.

An idea hit him like a train - his blood. He assumed she must've been going into shock from the withdrawals of it.

In an instant he punctured his hand with his teeth, while at the same time, Lily's phone began vibrating on the seat between them. It was Jesse calling, and Cassidy ignored it without a second thought.

He placed his hand against her mouth but she was unable to consume it. With her throat entirely blocked, she couldn't ingest it properly. Cassidy felt himself begin to panic as he watched her struggle more and more. There was nothing he could do to help her, soon she was going to die from suffocation. If that was the case, he had to be ready. He felt his mouth water and his entire body tingle at the thought of biting into her - but he was entirely conflicted. He wanted to so badly but just as much of him dreaded it.

Once again Lily's phone was vibrating. Cassidy groaned in panicked frustration as picked it up, and Jesse was already screaming on the other side, "Lily! Lily!" Jesse yelled urgently. "Jesse!" Cassidy hissed between his teeth.

"Cassidy get her back here right now you hear me!? _Right now_!" Jesse ordered, "Our grandmother's gonna kill her!"

Cassidy froze on spot. If Jesse knew what was happening, maybe this wasn't about Cassidy's blood after all. He _could_ bite her and risk trying to turn her into a vampire, but what if whatever this was happening to her was stronger than that?

Cassidy wasn't wiling to take that risk. He had no time to argue. He threw the car into drive and span around, rushing as fast as the car would allow back to Angelville.

He kept his hand on her and tried to be supportive in his words, assuring she was going to be alright, but she couldn't hear anything. Her ears were ringing and she had no idea what was happening - just that death was close to her.

As Lily's vision began fading, the last thing Lily saw was the large iron arch that gated the front of Angelville. As soon as they broke through the front gate of the property, her throat opened. Cassidy heard her gasp for air, and her hearing suddenly came back - but her sight didn't. She heard Cassidy's voice and could sense the panic in his tone but she couldn't process anything before slipping into unconsciousness.


	4. Monster

When Lily opened her eyes she felt worse than she had before. She was laying down, and Cassidy was directly at her side. Wondering where she was, she didn't have time to take in her surroundings before her eyes just barely focused on him. She could see his eyes were red. There were tears streaming down his cheeks, "Tulip's alive, Lily." He said, "She's alive." He repeated.

Lily felt her head pounding as she struggled to process the words. She had been out for over an hour and it wasn't exactly a restful kind of 'out'. She had been choked to unconsciousness and it only made her feel that much more run down.

When she went to speak, no words came out. Her throat was entirely dry and raw.

"What happened?" She was eventually able to croak out quietly. Leaning up, her head pounded harder and she noticed how sore her entire body was. Letting out a groan, she winced, "Damn it." She hissed beneath her breath, her hands moving up to the sides of her face.

With a hand on her back, Cassidy leaned closer to her, "You need this." He insisted, handing her a glass.

Without a doubt, Lily nodded, downing the blood laced water easily as she felt her body heat up instantly. Cassidy watched her crank her head back as she got every last drop of the large glass, exhaling in satisfaction as he took the glass from her.

With a soft hum, Lily felt the tingle sensation travel through her. Usually she was instantly elated and felt the 180 of the affects that his blood gave her immediately, but that wasn't the case this time - it was taking much longer, there was still pain but she felt the severe edge dissipate.

"She's alive?" Lily asked as if she hadn't heard him say it twice.

"Yea. Jess came up about half hour ago or so n'told me." Cassidy stated, sniffling once more as he wiped away the last of his tears.

With worried eyes, Lily swallowed, "Why are you crying? What happened? Have you seen her?"

He shook his head, "I'm just relieved yer alright. I haven't seen 'er, no. Didn't want to leave you on yer own."

Lily wasn't sure where she even was. Finally, she moved her eyes from Cassidy's and looked around. They were in a bedroom, and she only just noticed the large bed she was sitting up in. It was a bare mattress - no sheets or linens. The room hadn't looked like it had been lived in for years, but various belongings and furniture filled it.

With her eyes still scanning the room, Lily took a breath, "Where are we?"

"Upstairs." Cassidy said, exhaling.

Lily felt herself get a bit lightheaded, leading her to assume Cassidy's blood was still working through her. Trying to piece together any of the many strings of thought tangled through her head, she started simple, "What happened?" She asked again, "How long was I out?"

Cassidy took a deep breath in, still anxious from the events leading up to the present moment, "I dunno, an hour?" He said quietly.

With a slight nod, Lily exhaled, shifting on spot as she sat up on the bed, Cassidy sitting at her side as his legs hung over the edge of the mattress as he shook his head, "I don't know wot happened. One second we were on the road to get the fuck outta 'ere, n'the next you weren't even breathin', like." His eyes were red and it looked like they were welling up with tears again.

There was an insane amount of things going through Lily's mind as she struggled to put together anything that made sense, she did remember the feeling of pure relief, and then suddenly that feeling vanishing when her throat closed completely, "Right."

Cassidy raised his brows, leaning to her a little more, "But when that was happenin', Jesse - he called." Cassidy watched as Lily's eyes narrowed slightly, curious to what she missed, "He called yer phone n'was yellin' at me to bring you back. He said yer grandmother was goin' to kill you."

Feeling her heart sink, Lily tried to swallow the information Cassidy was giving her, "Then what?" She asked nervously. He shook his head in defeat, "Then I got back 'ere as fast I could n'as soon as we were back you gasped fer air." Getting more worried by the second Lily stared at Cassidy, his lips in a straight line, "Then y'passed out. N'I carried you in jus fer Jesse to tell me to bring you up 'ere."

He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. Taking another deep breath, Cassidy sighed, "So I did. N'I haven't moved since. Jus to the door 'ere when he came by bout half hour ago, now."

Cassidy watched as Lily's eyes drifted from his and she let her mind try and consume the facts. Her grandmother had her life in her hands - an idea that was far beyond unsettling. He could see the instant worry consume her and he thought about the time Jesse and Lily had spent alone with their grandmother in that room when they first arrived in Angelville. He'd smelt their blood when it was drawn and there was no doubt in his mind that whatever they'd done in that room was linked to everything that had just happened with Lily.

As much as he wanted to ask her what her and Jesse got themselves into, he refrained and kept quiet. After a while, Cassidy finally shifted on spot, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her into a close hug, "I'm so glad yer alright."

Lily placed her arms around him, taking a deep breath as she could only imagine how panicked he must've been. Eventually, Cassidy released his tight embrace from her and she looked at him, "My head feels much better." She noted.

Cassidy nodded, "That's good."

She let her eyes wander around the room again, feeling his eyes still burning into her and she finally looked up to him again.

"You're prolly starvin'." Cassidy said, "I got a bunch of stuff in the car I'll go grab quick." He dragged his hand off of her and stood up as she nodded, "Do you have my phone?"

He nodded once, lifting a hand and pointing to the bedside table, "It's there." Lily's eyes followed the direction of his finger and she grabbed it. It was dead.

"Mind grabbing my charger?" She asked, "It's in the front zipper of the bigger bag." He nodded, making his way out of the room and closing the door behind him.

* * *

**Downstairs**

With a heavy huff, Jesse threw the last of the bags he got from Tulip's car at the bottom of the stairs. He coughed, his throat still tight and sore - he lit a cigarette anyways.

He stood up straight, his eyes studying the all too familiar environment around him. He never wanted to be back here. With his mind racing, he thought about everything that had just happened..

_"Go get some fresh air." Jesse had told Lily. When she left, he felt relieved for her instantly. Being alone with their grandmother was no treat, and she had been alone with her and Tulip's body for a few hours. He worried what their grandmother had gotten up to in that time. He stared out the window, watching Cassidy follow Lily down the driveway as she eagerly made her way away from the house. Jesse didn't blame her._

_With a heavy sigh, Jesse turned to Tulip, placing his hand on her forehead, "Tulip." He cooed softly, "I'm gonna need you to stop giving us such a hard time and come back to us, already."_

_Marie L'Angelle began spreading the mixture she'd been brewing across Tulip's skin. Jody stood in the middle of the room, and Jesse passed him no glance._

_"There's a lot to be said about your sister." Marie began, spreading the black muck across Tulip's arms, "No doubt she's inherited your ungrateful hardheadedness."_

_With his hands still on Tulip, Jesse turned his attention away from her only for a moment, __"You take out all that anger on me." Jesse demanded, "Keep her out of this."_

_Marie lifted her chin with a smirk, still working at smearing the mixture over Tulip, "Hm." She hummed loudly, "You've kept her **out of it **long enough." She spat, mocking his words._

_Jesse heard Jody chuckle, shifting on his spot as he crossed his arms and took in the sight of Jesse back in the middle of it all. He never thought he'd see him again. Jody thought about all the possibilities._

_Jesse glared at his grandmother, "We're here now, and we have a deal." Jesse urged, wanting the process of Tulip to come back to happen sooner than later._

_"Almost there." Marie hissed, "Be patient." __Suddenly, his grandmother stopped in her tracks. She dropped the brush that she was using to spread the black gunk as it hit the floor. Raising his brows in concern, Jesse looked up. When she lifted her head, there was a streak in her eyes Jesse knew all too well - she was angry. "She's leaving." His grandmother hissed. Jesse's face dropped and his grip on Tulip loosened._

_When they heard Tulip's car start, Jesse jumped off the chair he sat on beside Tulip and ran to the front door. By the time he hit the front step he saw Lily jump into the car down the driveway as they peeled off._

_Jesse stared at the big, dusty cloud Tulip's car left behind and his heart sank. "No, no, no." He turned to run back into the house - his phone was on the chair beside Tulip._

_As he ran back into the room where his grandmother and Tulip laid, Jesse noticed Madame L'Angelle at her desk, in her hands - the handkerchief that held the drops of Jesse and Lily's blood _

_"No." Jesse choked out, "Just give me a sec-" He watched her lips tightly quivering in pure fury. Her eyes went from black to red, piercing through him with a terrifying amount of power. Her long, bony fingers clenched onto the napkin, making it harder for him to breathe, "Wait-" He choked out. In an instant, she twisted the handkerchief in her grasp and Jesse felt his throat close. He knew Lily would be feeling the same, and he struggled to stay strong enough through it to try and call her phone._

_Marie waited for the other side of the phone to pick up, but it went to voicemail. She squeezed harder, and Jesse fell to his knees in pain. His face was bright red as he struggled to press redial. Finally, Cassidy picked up._

_Jesse dragged himself the fastest he could to their grandmother, who reached a hand out to Jesse's throat, making him able to gasp for breath. She used her power in one hand to do the opposite of the other - continuing in her other hand a twisting motion to be sure Lily still felt the affects._

_Jesse was able to talk, to yell, at Cassidy to bring Lily back to Angelville. Cassidy hadn't argued, and Jesse had hoped that meant he would listen. Jesse dropped the phone, his grandmother's hand still on his throat as he watched her grinding the handkerchief still in her other hand, "Please." Jesse begged, struggling to catch his breath "Stop hurting her. They're coming back."_

_Marie's eyes burned harder and harder into Jesse's as she continued to squeeze on the cloth in her hand, her hands were shaking with rage and finally, as they heard the car approach to a stop at the front step. Jesse watched his grandmother release her clench on the piece of cloth as Jesse ripped his neck out of the grasp of his grandmother, running to the front door._

_Cassidy practically busted down the front door, Lily was in his arms and she was unconscious. Jesse rushed to Cassidy, his face in a frantic panic. Jesse would have known if his sister was dead, but he checked her pulse just to be sure._

_"Bring her upstairs!" Jesse said urgently at Cassidy, wanting her nowhere near their grandmother. With nothing to argue against, Cassidy listened, running up the stairs and going into the first bedroom he'd found._

_Jesse felt his heart sink, thinking about his sister and everything she'd been though. Suddenly, his blood began to boil. Now was not the time to lose his composure, not with Tulip's life still on the line. He took a breath, turning and heading back into the room._

_Jody had a giant grin on his face, amused at how wrapped around Madame L'Angelle's finger they were. With his lips in a straight line, and his body tingling with fury, Jesse stared at his grandmother, "__You've gotten what you wanted." Jesse spat, "We're not going anywhere. We have a deal. Now do your end and bring Tulip back."_

_The look in his grandmothers eyes was pure satisfaction, she grinned at his desperation. He could talk all tough as much as he wanted, but she knew that Jesse was weaker than ever. Finally, she lifted her hands, pressing them against Tulip and in an instant - she gasped, coming back to life._

Jesse was ripped out of his train of thought about what happened when he heard the stairs above him shifting. From the darkness above, he saw Cassidy's figure. His pace slowed significantly when he noticed Jesse at the bottom of the stairs. His shoulders were slumped, his steps were heavy and slower and his brow was low.

"Hey Cass." Jesse said quietly.

Cassidy stood a few steps up still, finally making his way down to the bottom where Jesse stood, "Where is she?" He asked.

Jesse puffed at his cigarette, "Sleeping. Upstairs. We're in the room across the hall from you." He exhaled a trail of smoke as he looked up at Cassidy, "Thanks for all your help, Cass." Jesse said honestly.

Ignoring Jesse's acknowledgement, Cassidy's eyes moved to the bags Jesse had brought in from Tulip's car, "Why th'Hell did you unpack all this shite?" He hissed.

"We're staying here for a while." Jesse told Cassidy. Jesse's voice was soft, but Cassidy's was much harsher, his face was suddenly scrunched up, "Why in the _Hell_ would we spend another second here, Jesse? We got wot we came for. Tulip's back, right?"

Jesse found himself having to interrupt Cassidy in his angry rant, "It's not that easy." Jesse insisted, his voice still low, "What happened to Lily earlier - that was because her and I had to sacrifice our will for Tulip to come back. It was our exchange so she would bring Tulip back in the first place. We gotta pay out debt before we can go."

Cassidy's face flattened again at the discouraging news. Jesse took another breath, leaning away from Cassidy slightly, "Besides, Tulip needs to rest. She'll likely sleep through the next day." He puffed at his cigarette as he huffed, "Not to mention my sister." He shook his head, "She needs rest, too."

"Yea, I know that." Cassidy spat, "I know what she _needs. _You don't 'ave to tell me." He shook his head, repeating himself, "I know wot she needs an' wot's best for her, n'right now it's hard to believe you know anythin' about that." Cassidy let out a chuckle in an unbelievable manner, his voice much louder suddenly, "I mean, c'mon. Jus look at us - look at where we are!" He held out his arms, and his voice went to a low hiss again as his eyes burned into his, "You should see 'er." He hissed, referring to Jesse's sister, "She's a fuckin' mess, Jesse."

Jesse could understand where Cassidy's anger was coming from. He had no idea what anything around them meant, and Jesse hadn't had the opportunity to explain properly. Cassidy leaned closer to Jesse, and it looked like he was about ready to get physical again really quickly. Cassidy was practically talking through his teeth, "You were goin' off the other day when you found out about her n'I how I was a _monster_, how you were worried cos I might end up gettin' 'er all tied up in somethin' so _horrible_-"

Of course Cassidy remembered all the things Jesse had said about him when he found out about Lily and himself. He'd called him names and made it out to be that Cassidy was the worst thing that could've happened to Lily, and if he was being honest to himself, they hurt him. It hurt that Jesse saw him that way. And now it was all just too ironic not to call out.

Cassidy shook his head, a smirk of disbelief coming across his mouth before it flattened again, "Who's the monster, now?" Cassidy asked. Jesse stared at him silently, eating every word Cassidy spat at him and not retaliating. Cassidy had so much more to say, but Jesse's silence caught him by surprise. He'd expected another blowup. Cassidy bit his tongue and leaned away from Jesse instead, causing an uncomfortable silence between them.

After several seconds, Jesse pulled his eyes from Cassidy's,"Here." He said, cutting the silence, kicking at a pile of bedding and towels, "I washed these myself, give Lil a peace of mind. Tell her I'm just finishin' up some stuff down here and I'll be up in a bit to talk."

Cassidy dragged his glare from Jesse and reluctantly grabbed his and Lily's stuff, along with the pile of freshly cleaned linens as he turned to walk back up the stairs.

Jesse's voice pulled his attention back, "Cassidy, you can hate me all you want right now, but just think about if the roles were reversed."

Cassidy stopped, his one foot on the stair above the next with his arms full of stuff as he held his breath.

"You're telling me you wouldn't put us through this Hell for Lily?" Jesse asked.

Jesse waited for a response to his rhetorical question, but Cassidy didn't move or speak. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jesse walked up a few steps so he was at Cassidy's side on the steps, talking in a quiet whisper, "Listen. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but it is what it is. We're going to have to stay here a while until we figure out a way." He said as quiet as possible as he let out a frustrated groan, "I can't go on about it now." He wasn't sure who or what might be listening in on them, "Can we talk about all this later?"

Cassidy exhaled and groaned back quietly, "Is she alright, at least?" He asked, looking to Jesse at his side, "Tulip?"

Jesse nodded, his brow furrowed with confusion, "I came up and told you a while ago."

"Yea," Cassidy stated flatly, "I know that, but is she _alright_?"

Jesse's thoughtful eyes studied Cassidy's a moment, "Yea." He stated, "Yea." He repeated.

"Did you talk to 'er?" Cassidy asked.

Nodding Jesse shifted his weight, "Yea, a little bit. She asked about you guys, she remembers everythin' she's just exhausted. Like I said, she'll probably sleep through the whole day tomorrow."

"Hm." Cassidy hummed, before making his way back up the stairs.

Jesse watched Cassidy make his way up the stairs as he turned a corner. He understood why Cassidy was feeling the way he was. If they stood a chance in working together, he'd have to take the time to mend things with Cassidy, preferably sooner than later before he tried anything drastic again in efforts to get them out of Angelville. With a deep exhale, Jesse thought on that.

He had a lot of mending to do, and it had to start with his sister.


	5. Good Point

As Cassidy made his way back up the stairs with all the baggage and linens gathered in his arms, his eye caught a figure down the hallway. It was Lily. He dropped everything he had in front of the room they'd claimed as theirs and walked towards her.

Lily continued to stare into the room, and Cassidy put two and two together fairly soon that Tulip must be in the room Lily was looking into.

Leaning against the door frame, Lily studied Tulip laying on the bed in the room as she took another deep breath in her slumber. Tulip's skin was glowing again and it was hard to imagine that just moments before she was the dead image of her Lily had in her head.

Cassidy was close at her side, "You had a feelin' didn't ye?" He asked quietly.

Lily kept her eyes on Tulip and her voice low, turning her chin slightly towards Cassidy as her eyebrows crinkled slightly, "What do you mean?"

"When you wanted t'go after 'er back at the apartment." Cassidy explained, "Right before she went back in and got shot. You had a feeling." He remembered the look in her eyes and the uneasiness in the vehicle as Tulip left them. Shaking her head slowly, Lily shrugged a shoulder, her eyes still glued on Tulip, "I don't know. Maybe." She said with little confidence. There was quite a long pause between them, the only sound was Tulip's faint snoring.

"Where's Jesse?" Lily asked, finally looking to Cassidy.

"Downstairs." Cassidy said shortly.

Lily nodded, "Hm." She hummed, her eyes thoughtful as they trailed away back to Tulip. After a few seconds of silence, Cassidy tilted his head down the hallway, "Got all our stuff."

With her eyes flickering to the bags in the hallway, Lily took one last glance of Tulip before pushing off the door frame and making her way back to the bedroom Cassidy had brought her in.

"I wanted to get out of 'ere." Cassidy stated, throwing their bags on the ground in the room as he closed the bedroom door behind them, "But yer brother said wotever it was you n'him did in that room with your gran'ma earlier - it pretty much signed yer life over to 'er." Lily was quiet, finding herself sitting on the bed, not very attentive to Cassidy as he went off, "He'd rather have each of you give up your free will than for Tulip to have ended up like me." Cassidy growled bitterly.

As Cassidy continued, Lily's mind was going off on it's own tangent of it's own.

Tulip was _alive_.

Since Lily had seen her laying in the room down the hallway, seemingly perfect - sleeping peacefully - her mind had been rattled again. Tulip's lively glow was back and she was alive again. It was an overwhelming thing to realize. Sudden grief and relief hit her all at once.

Cassidy's words stopped suddenly and his stomach began to drop as he saw Lily's bottom lip begin to quiver and almost immediately following, tears began streaming down her face. Lifting a hand to her mouth, she couldn't choke back the urge to cry any longer. Her sobs shocked Cassidy. In an instant, he suddenly felt terrible for making the snide remarks and going on the way he was.

Quickly, he rushed to her side, sitting and wrapping an arm around her as she cried, "I'm sorry." He said, "Lily, I didn't mean to sound-" The harder she cried the harder it was to find words. He made the decision to stay quiet instead.

Finally, she took a choppy breath and leaned over, pulling out of Cassidy's arms and groaning, more than a little frustrated that she couldn't control herself as the tears kept pouring, "I'm overtired." She finally choked out, attempting to justify her breakdown.

"It's fine. It's fine." He assured, "It's a lot happenin' right now."

She let her face sit in her hands a moment, her eyes still leaking in a steady stream as she stared forward at the wall. Holding her breath and trying to stop the tears, she sighed in frustration.

Cassidy stared at her. It had been nearly two days of this chaotic blur of Hell, and Lily was entirely drained. There was nothing that could be done about them being stuck there. He tried changing the tone a bit from his sour one just seconds before, "There's a nice big tub in the bathroom." He pointed his thumb behind them towards the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom, "Want me to run you a bath?"

That was an idea that sounded so good. She nodded, wiping both of her hands across her face as more tears trailed down. Letting out a choppy breath and stifling the sobbing sounds, she nodded, "Yea." He was more than a bit frazzled, the more she cried, the more his heart broke and he wanted to do anything and everything to make it stop.

He stood up and made his way quickly to the bathroom. It didn't look like anyone had used it in years. He did his very best to give it a rinse before beginning to fill the tub. Grabbing Lily's smaller bag, he dug through her stuff until he found something through the toiletries to make some bubbles - squeezing nearly half the bottle into the hot water as it began foaming up into bubbles.

Lily had her hands pressed against her eyes as if that would stop them from leaking the way they were, she hadn't noticed Cassidy already back at her side, "Here." He said, pulling her up. They walked into the bathroom, and she found it easy to strip down out of the dirty clothes and step into the hot, bubbly water. "Jesse threw some beddin n' towels n'that in 'ere for us earlier." Cassidy explained, "Said he ran them through the wash 'imself, so y'know they're clean." He assured, using Jesse's words he'd just rolled his eyes to. Not that Lily cared too much in the moment anyway, but it was definitely a nice gesture. She sniffled and grabbed a face cloth that was rolled up on top of the small pile of towels as she let out another frustrated sigh.

It felt so good to be in the hot bath. Cassidy watched her lean back and dunk the face cloth she had in her hand in the water before placing it on her face. She let out a broken huff mixed with a groan. As much as he wanted to stay at her side, he knew it was best to give her some space to decompress as best as she finally could, "I'll let you relax." Just as he was about to leave, her voice pulled him back, "Cassidy?"

"What?" He asked, walking to the side of the tub. When she didn't answer right away he lowered himself to sit on the ledge at her side. The cloth was still on her face, covering her eyes.

"I know you're really mad at Jesse-" Lily started, but she wasn't sure where else to go with that topic. She took a moment to piece some careful words together, "I'm thankful you've been able to keep peace the last couple days." Cassidy stared at her, nodding and looking down at his hands folded into each other before shifting his weight a bit, "Of course." He said, raising his brows as he thought about how hostile he had been with Jesse the last couple of days.

"I know it's not easy for you." Lily said, pulling the cloth off of her tired face, "After the way he acted. The hurtful things he said." Her eyes were red and they felt like they were on fire as they continued to leak tears that she had no control over.

She thought about her last conversation with Tulip in the closet at the apartment in New Orleans. Tulip had told her to give Cassidy some credit, and right now, Lily was really feeling like Tulip's words were burning into Lily's conscious. She reached a hand out of the water, covered in film soapy bubbles and grabbed his forearm closest to her, "I don't know how I would've managed through all of this without you, Cass."

He was shaking his head before she'd even finished that last sentence, "You would've been jus fine - with less broken bones at the very least.. definitely one more tooth in you."

"Mmm." She hummed, her tongue finding the gap towards the back of her mouth. He was relieved to see her smirk slightly. She'd already forgotten about that, with how much had happened more recently.

Her eyes were burning, she closed them, and Cassidy spoke again, "I'm sorry I couldn't get us out of here." He paused before he chuckled darkly, "I was jus sayin' how I was gonna make sure things were gonna be better n'then I almost had you killed."

Lily opened her eyes slightly before closing them again, her lip pressed in a flat line as she sank lower into the water, her hand still grasping his forearm, "You didn't know that was going to happen." She rasped lowly.

When it was quiet for a while Cassidy nodded, even though Lily's eyes were closed. He spoke softly, careful to be less snide and bitter, "Like you said, Tulip's alive. Lets jus focus on getting back to as normal as possible here before we try anythin' else."

"I just want to talk to her." Lily stated with her throat tight, "I just want to see that she's still... _her_." She said nervously. Her eyes had the same intense amount of worry that were in them when she begged Cassidy to leave Angelville earlier. It made his heart hurt. "What if.." She trailed off, her eyes wandering as she tried to compress her thoughts. The water she laid in swished around slightly as she adjusted herself, "What if she comes back from dead and she's not... herself." Lily stated. Cassidy thought on that for a little bit. Adjusting himself on the side of the tub he raised his brows, "Well, I suppose you can say_ I_ came back from dead."

Opening her sore eyes slightly, Lily looked up at him, her mind jumping around a bit before she finally got the courage to ask the burning question in her mind, "What happened?"

Cassidy spoke quietly, almost too quiet for Lily to hear, "I was walking in a marsh, beside a swampy sorta area, like." He started, "N'out of nowhere from behind me somethin' grabbed at me. I heard it jump outta the water but I couldn't react quick enough. It dragged me under the thick water an' pretty soon I was runnin' out of breath. Thought I was gonna drown."

Lily stayed quiet, her eyes closed again as she listened intently as she could.

"Suddenly it stuck its teeth in my neck. It hurt so fuckin' bad, an' _then _I knew I was dead. Next thing, I was awake again. There wasn't no seeing-the-light moment, or pearly gates or anythin' like that. I was under the water. _Drowning_. I kept trying to get out, but ev'ry time I would breach the surface, the bloody sun would hit me n'I would light up like the fourth of fuckin' July and 'ave to go back under to put myself out. I had t'wait for night an-." Cassidy's words stopped suddenly mid-sentence.

It took a moment for Lily to notice he'd stopped talking before she open her eyes and looked up at him, "What?" She asked.

Cassidy shook his head softly, "Don't know why I'm goin' on about me right now." He stated, feeling a bit selfish, as if he was making this whole thing suddenly about him.

"Keep going." Lily insisted, squeezing at his arm feebly as she began sinking further into the hot water, "It's a good distraction from everything else going on in my head." She stated honestly.

He nodded, taking a breath before he continued, "I had the slightest clue wot happened to me exactly, but goin' off my reaction to the sun n'the way that thing bit me, I had a pretty good idea." He cleared his throat, "There were new things to get used to, o'course. But I was still... _me_." His lips twisted a bit as he let out a sigh, "I guess wot I'm gettin' at wit all this, is that it's _possible_ to come back from the dead n'not be so bad."

"Hm." Lily hummed thoughtfully. Several seconds passed as she finally opened her burning eyes again, "That's a good point, Cass." Lily shut her sore eyes again and it was silent for a while. Finally, Cassidy noticed Lily's eyes open again, letting them wander around a bit. Her eyes caught her shampoo bottle upside down in the far corner of the bath. She sniffled, finding it hard to smell with her nose as stuffed up as it was, "Did you pour my shampoo in here?"

"I dunno." He stated honestly, "I was in a panic an' jus grabbed the first thing I found."

That shampoo was expensive. It was nearly brand new and Cassidy had emptied out the better half of it. He was as shocked as he was relieved to see her laugh softly as she wiped under her eyes again. "What?" Cassidy asked. With a smile she shook her head slowly, "Nothing." She sank lower into the hot water, thinking about how in different circumstances, she would have reamed him out for wasting her expensive shampoo. How stupid and naive she'd been to how privileged a life she lived for so long. She would give anything to not be where she was now.

While her hand slid off of his arm, he couldn't help but smile down at her. Before he got up, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, closing the bathroom door behind him. Cassidy was careful to give her space all well listening to her every breath from the bedroom on the other side of the wall.

Cassidy stared at the clean bedding Jesse had given him and decided to start putting the bed together. After several minutes, Cassidy had noticed someone approaching the room, and soon after there was a soft knock at the door. Cassidy stood up from the bed and opened the door to see Jesse standing out on the other side, "Hey." Jesse said softly, "How's she doing?" He asked quietly.

Shifting on spot, Cassidy huffed, "She's a mess." He whispered as he shook his head.

Jesse nodded, his eyes full of understanding, "Is she awake?" He asked.

"Actually, I jus drew 'er a bath so she's tryin' to relax a bit." Cassidy stated shortly.

Jesse nodded simply, "That's good." He said with a soft huff, Cassidy's cold front not going unnoticed to himself, "Alright then. I'll talk to her in the morning." Jesse said. Cassidy nodded, his lips pressed into a line as he struggled to look Jesse directly in the eye. With a polite smile, Jesse began turning from the door, "Night, Cass." He said. "Night." Cassidy said back.

Closing the bedroom door, Cassidy took a deep breath. Things between himself and Jesse had gotten so fucked up so quickly. He felt the burning part of him that despised Jesse grow weaker as the desperation to smooth things out started growing. The torn emotions were annoying Cassidy - Lily's words burning in his mind - how thankful she was for keeping the peace, when in reality, Cassidy wanted to kick Jesse's ass. He groaned to himself. One thing he knew for sure was that _he_ wasn't the one who needed to apologize. He refused. With yet another frustrated grumble, Cassidy went back to the bed, trying to silence his mental struggle going on in his mind.

After a long while, he recognized Lily's breathing pattern of that while she slept. He decided to peak into the bathroom and check on her. Just as he thought, she'd fallen asleep. The bubbles in the bath had all deflated and laid as a flat, white foam blanket on the surface of the water. He was gentle to wake her, "Hey." He sang softly, "Lily."

When she opened her eyes she realized the bath water was nearly cold. Cassidy already had a towel in his arms, "Let's go to bed." She took a deep breath as he helped her out of the bath. He was quick to wrap the towel around her and she couldn't care less about drying off properly.

When they walked back into the bedroom, her eyes caught the open wardrobe, noticing that he'd began hanging and putting away their stuff, before they moved to the freshly made bed. He grabbed her some comfortable clothes to wear to bed and she got into them slowly in her exhausted trance.

"Feelin' any better?" Cassidy asked hopefully.

Sluggishly, Lily got into the bed. Exhaling deeply, as her eyes had hardly opened since she got out of the tub. "Yea, actually." She stated honestly, nestling into the blankets, "I do." Physically, she felt much less sore, but mentally she was still completely drained.

It didn't take long for Cassidy to crawl into the bed with her, turning off the small lamp at the bedside. The moon was bright as it shone through the two small windows, lighting up the room a good amount. Lily lifted her hand, she stared at her palm with heavy eyes, the cut had sealed over with a dark red, almost black - but it wasn't healing. "This hasn't healed yet." She stated.

"Hm." Cassidy grabbed her hand and studied it curiously. It looked like it was scarred already. "Give it some time, I suppose."

"Hm." She hummed sleepily back, his hand still holding onto hers as she slowly began fading into a slumber again.

"Kinda nice not havin' t'crawl in and out of a window jus t'be wit ye." He joked, adjusting himself to have his arm underneath her as her head rested against his chest. She let out a sleepy chuckle, which he was thankful for. Not much time passed before Lily practically fell asleep on spot, leaving Cassidy wide awake for the night to let his mind sort everything going on inside it.


	6. The Most Goddamned Awful Place There Is

_Hey everyone! I did use a lot of word-for-word lines from Jesse during this chapter that I read in the comic, but they're some of my favourites, so I really wanted to incorporate them. There's a hole in my heart now that the show is done, but my mind is full of ideas for this fic, which kind of fills that hole in my heart just a little now that the show is over. :(_

_Please leave a review and let me know what you think._

_This may be my longest chapter ever. So much talking, but I feel like it's long overdue and necessary. Back to the action and story progress after this though! Cheers._

* * *

**THE NEXT MORNING**

"Jesus, Lily, you look like absolute shit." Tulip stated from the bed on the other side of the room.

Lily stood in the doorway of the bedroom Tulip and Jesse had slept in, her arms crossed and her breath held tight. She had been extremely nervous when she'd woken up to see Tulip for the first time since she'd been shot dead and come back to life, but somehow, the first remark Tulip had made reassured her not to be too worried after all.

As she stepped further into the bedroom, Lily let out a mix of a scoff and a laugh as she shook her head at Tulip, "Fuck." She said simply, which made Tulip laugh. Cassidy followed behind and stood against the wardrobe in the room Jesse and Tulip had stayed in. He watched as Lily sat on the bed Tulip rested in. Tulip was sitting up, her back against the bed frame as she sipped on some coffee Jesse had made.

"Want some coffee?" Jesse asked, sitting on the other side of the bed, at Tulip's other side.

"Sure." Cassidy said. Lily turned towards her brother, "Yea." She agreed. Jesse pressed his lips into a smile and nodded, winking at Tulip once before he walked out of the bedroom.

When Lily sat on the bed at Tulip's side and turned to face her, Tulip leaned towards Lily and placed a couple fingers under her eye, better blending the concealer that was on her face, "Thanks." Lily said softly, thankful for the warm touch of her skin against hers. Tulip was quick to bring Lily in for a hug, and Lily was relieved to have the smell that she always remembered Tulip to naturally have flood her senses.

"How are you?" Lily asked with her face over Tulip's shoulder, still in a tight hug. Tulip slowly pulled away, staying close to Lily as they let go of there hug. With a slight shrug, Tulip pursed her lips a bit, "Fine." She said, tilting her head, "Definitely better than you look."

"Hmph." Lily laughed halfheartedly. There was no doubt in that. Tulip was energetic and bright eyed. Lily's eyes made it feel like her face had been beaten in they were so swollen from all the crying.

When Jesse came back into the room, Lily turned to the door, just to be sure it was just him. She watched her brother walk up to Cassidy and hand him a cup of coffee before walking up Lily and Tulip, standing in front of them as he handed Lily a mug.

"Thanks." She said, eagerly taking a big gulp of the hot coffee before looking back up to her brother, "Is anyone down there?" Lily asked nervously, nearly whispering she was so quiet. Cassidy caught Tulip's brow crinkle as she noted how on edge Lily was acting, as she continued studying Lily close to her. Cassidy wondered if Jesse had filled her in on anything that had happened while Tulip was dead.

Jesse shook his head, "Gran'ma's not up yet, her room's downstairs, but Jody and TC live out in another house just on the other side of the yard."

Cassidy stood leaning against a dresser with his coffee resting on the top of it, watching the three of them interact while pouring some whiskey into his mug.

Lily's eyes studied her brothers as she hummed thoughtfully. Finally, she turned back to Tulip taking a deep breath, "So you're feeling alright?" She asked.

Tulip's voice was strong and almost too loud for Lily's ears, "Yea, Lil, I'm fine." She smiled widely at her while shaking her head. Cassidy and Jesse watched the girls exchange back and forth and it was a disturbing contrast between the two. Tulip was glowing, full of life and energy, while Lily hardly seemed like she was awake. There were dark circles under her bloodshot, dark eyes and her skin was pale.

Tulip noticed how out of the normal Lily seemed, there was a streak in her eyes that Tulip found concerning. Soon, Tulip's smile faded and she began to realize lots of more had to have happened for Lily to be in the mental state that she was. It started off as a playful joke, but Tulip was beginning to realize how out of sorts Lily was.

"What?" Tulip asked, her voice softer.

Lily shook her head, "I have about a million questions for you." She said quietly, "But I can't even think of one to start."

Tulip placed her cup of coffee down and reached her hands out to Lily's. This time, Tulip wasn't trying to give a jokingly hard time, she really meant it, "Damn it, Lil, what in the _Hell _happened to you?" She asked, shaking her head. As she stared into Tulip's bright eyes, Lily felt so relieved. She was still the Tulip she knew and loved, there was no question in that. Lily's heart was racing as she began to think of everything she wanted to explain to Tulip, she felt herself get a bit overwhelmed. Instead, she shook her head, pulling at her hands that were inside Tulip's and wrapped her arms around her into a hug again, "Don't worry about it." Lily said, squeezing her, "Just happy you're back."

"Me too, Lil." Tulip squeezed her back harder.

The girls had almost forgotten about Jesse and Cassidy standing at their side, and it felt like they hugged for hours until they finally released again.

Lily let out a choppy sigh, grabbing her cup of coffee again and downing the rest of it, "I need about a thousand more cups of this for it to do anything for me right now." She groaned, placing the cup back down on the bedside table next to Tulip and turned her head, glancing around the room, "Is there a bathroom in here?"

"Yea." Jesse said, pointing to behind her at a door, "There."

Lily got up and went to the washroom. When she came out, Cassidy had taken the spot Lily was just sitting at Tulip's side and the two of them were talking as usual, their playful banter going back and forth was a blissful sight. Lily's eye caught something in the corner of her vision. It was Jesse, walking in from the door, thankfully with more coffee in his possession. With a sigh of relief, Lily held her hands out as Jesse approached her with a fresh cup.

"Thanks, Jess." Lily whispered, bringing it to her lips right away as she glanced where Tulip laid back and Cassidy was at her side. His eyes moved from Tulips a moment to look at Lily's briefly, before his attention moved back to Tulip. There was a smile spread across Cassidy's face that made Lily so comforted - things finally felt somewhat normal. Lily's glance moved to Tulip, who mirrored a grin as big as Cassidy's and Lily felt her heart flutter with happiness.

"Lil," Jesse said softly, leaning close to Lily's side, "Sorry it got pushed to the side for so long, but I'm ready for that talk with just the two of us you wanted." He said softly.

Lily remembered the big blow up that had happened just before Tulip was shot. She'd reached out to her brother, texting him and asking him if they could talk just the two of them. That was _before _everything turned even **more **incredibly sideways, so she could only imagine how much they had to talk about now.

"Guess a drive isn't an option." Lily grumbled.

Jesse pressed his lips into a straight line, shaking his head.

"Alright." Lily sighed, "Outside, at least. I could use some fresh air."

Jesse nodded, walking towards the bed, "Lil and I will be right back, alright?"

"Alright." Tulip said, hardly looking away from Cassidy who was mid-story. Cassidy, however, stopped talking, his attention completely moving to the Custers, "Where are y'goin'?" He asked.

"Just for a little walk outside." Jesse said.

Lily could tell Cassidy had something to say but caught him practically biting his own tongue as he rested in his spot again, his eyes piercing into Lily's.

"Won't be long." Jesse assured, noticing how uneasy Cassidy was. "Alright." Tulip sang, "See you guys in a bit. I'm not goin' anywhere." She joked with a smile. Jesse watched Cassidy swallow what seemed to be the words in his throat as his eyes softened and his shoulders dropped slightly. Jesse moved towards the door, "Go ahead." He said, opening the door for his sister as he closed it behind them. Lily made her way downstairs to the front entrance of the house, a little nervous at the thought of who or what she might run into. Lucky for them, it was empty - or so it seemed, anyway.

Lily turned out the front door and decided to turn, following a path to the back area of the property, her eyes studied the area. She'd been so consumed by her surroundings, she'd hardly realized how far she'd taken them. When she turned to look in the direction they walked from, they could hardly see the house. Finally, she saw a large rock with a perfectly flat top and decided to sit facing the back of the large house they'd come from.

During their walk, Jesse thought about how he'd begin, not that he hadn't thought about it for the days leading up to this moment. He sat down on the flat rock and Lily followed suit, sitting at his side. The sun was rising but there was still an eerie darkness that surrounded them. There was a warm breeze, causing the leaves in the trees surrounding the area to rustle all around them.

"I guess I'll start off by saying what's most important which is that I'm sorry." Jesse said, "I let a lot of things get to me that I shouldn't've and I can see how much I've royally fucked up now that it's all in hind sight." Lily felt her stomach flutter a bit in nervousness as Jesse continued, "I haven't been a good partner to Tulip. I gotta make that up to her, and I'll make sure she knows that, and I want to make sure you know that I'm going to make everything up to you, too."

Lily nodded, her throat tight, "When you left like that back in New Orleans-" She shook her head, the lump in her throat getting harder to choke down, "It reminded me of the last time we ended things like that, and we didn't talk for years after that happened."

In an instant, Jesse's eyes were piercing into hers as serious as ever, "That will _never _happen again." Jesse stated, "That..." He stopped on his words, remembering how broken he was after Dallas. He remembered Tulip having the sudden miscarriage, and their relationship having ruptured the way it had. He hadn't dealt with the situation correctly, and in return he'd took a lot of his internal feelings out on both Tulip and his sister. "Things are much different than they were then. That was one of the lowest moments of my life. Eventually, I was determined to change myself. But I took it all the wrong way. I know that now, and I'm sorry. I was weak. Too weak to be there for you, but I'll _never _be that weak again, you understand?"

Lily took a deep breath, "I was just as stubborn as you were. I turned by back on you and the entire situation just as much. I should've been there for you and Tulip but I was too wrapped up in my own ego and life. I was selfish." She admitted shamefully.

He shook his head, dismissing her justifying her own behavior, "I was pathetic. If anything, being back here is bringing back all the shit deep inside me and is giving me the perspective I needed to find that better man I wanted to be. I promise I won't _ever _turn my back on you like that again, Lily." He promised, staring deep into her eyes.

Lily blinked slowly, her eyes burning as if she was going to cry again, "Me either, Jesse." She agreed. A sudden chill went through her, and she felt her hair standing on the back of her neck.

"What?" Jesse asked.

Looking behind her and seeing nothing but the thick forest, she shook her head, "Nothing."

He studied her for a moment before he took a breath. With a nod, Jesse dropped his shoulders, "I can see now what the Grail's true agenda was with me and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you guys sooner." He was clearly frustrated in himself, as he shook his head "Shit." He spat, "Things got very fucked up for me for a while there. If I wasn't so wrapped up in all of that-" He remembered the Grail's idea of having Jesse represent as the replacement Messiah. He held his breath for a moment, shaking his head and cursing himself, "Then Tulip wouldn't have gotten shot by those fuckers." Lily watched as Jesse fumed with all of the anger he had for himself. It was all such a crazy blur. "They have my soul." He sighed, "The piece that was with the Saint. The Grail has it. Fuckers." Jesse spat.

"You think that's why Gensis isn't working?" Lily asked. Jesse was already nodding, "Yea, that could very well be it." He huffed, "Won't know for sure until I get it back."

There was silence for a moment, other than the breeze that brushed through the trees all around them, the leaves were fluttering in the wind and the buzz of bugs that surrounded them was slowly getting louder as the sun went further up into the sky.

"Our mother's buried here." Jesse stated suddenly, turning himself a bit inwards towards Lily, "Behind us. There's a little cemetery. She's there."

Lily felt her throat close and there was several seconds of silence.

"No shit." Lily finally choked out.

"Was shocked at first to see you lead us back here." Jesse was sparking a cigarette, "But then again, I guess I wasn't..." He stated, his words a bit muffled with the smoke in his mouth. Lily wasn't sure what that meant exactly, maybe he was referring her good intuition for things, but another topic popped in her mind and now was the time to finally tell Jesse, "I _saw_ our mother." She admitted.

With his brows raised, Jesse looked to his sister again, as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, "You did?"

Lily nodded, "I saw her once when we first came into the house. Standing at the top of the stairs.. I'm pretty sure it was her. And another time I'm _positive _I saw her. Came face to face with her. Just before you got back yesterday, before Cassidy finally pulled me out of it. I had a feeling telling you about it in that room with our grandmother wasn't the best idea."

Exhaling a trail of smoke, Jesse nodded, "You were right. Don't ever talk about anything like that around her. Hell, don't talk to her _at all_ if you don't have to." As he stared into Lily's eyes. He could tell she was dying for answers. Nodding again, Jesse lifted the cigarette back up to his mouth, "I see dad in my dreams sometimes... but I've seen mom only a couple that I can remember."

Lily stayed quiet, hoping he'd finally elaborate on the topic of their parents. Finally he did, moving the smoke from his mouth and staring at the trees around them, "Our parents were good people." He exhaled again. Lily swallowed, and it felt like word vomit suddenly came out of her mouth at the rare opportunity to discuss the subject of their parents, "Then why don't you ever talk about them?" Lily meant for her question to just be a fair enough of one, but it came out a bit harsh, which wasn't intended. "I-" She stuttered for a second, "Just mean why haven't you ever talked about them to me." She said with her tone noticeably softer.

Jesse sat straighter, the cigarette between his fingers burning away, "Because everything around them wasn't good." He shook his head, flicking the ash off his smoke, "They died because of what they did to try and be together - to bring us into this world and I didn't want you to live with the burden and guilt I did." Lily wasn't sure if she ever saw her brothers eyes look so raw as he talked, "Our mother did everything she could to be with our father. She met him while she was on the run. From here." He smiled, which made Lily's heart skip a bit, "From what I remember being told, there was a bit of a misunderstanding when they first met."

"Yea?" Lily asked curiously, her throat still tight.

Jesse nodded, "Dad was just comin' back from war. He was taking a bus when he met our mother. Slapped him across the face and called him a babykiller."

Lily's brow crinkled in confusion and Jesse continued, leaning into her a bit more and shifting his position, a smirk on his face, "Mom was hitching around with these hippy dippy shit group, they were obviously anti-anything, causing a fucking fuss outta anything to get a raise going.. and I guess she was just doing her part to fit into the people she'd blended with during her run away from here." He explained, "And soon enough, she was apologizing to our dad, who, of course, being the man he was, gave her the reassurance our mom needed that he understood she hadn't meant to be the way she had and he could see that she was struggling."

"They fell mad in love, Lily. Like nothing else." He continued, with a smirk still across his lips and Lily hadn't noticed she'd been smiling too, "Guess they were making up for lost time." He paused a moment, "Cue me coming into the picture. About a year and a half of them being together. We lived Laredo for a while. I remember lots during that time. I try to remember that time more than others." Jesse's smirk faded slowly, and Lily felt her heart sink, "We were so happy." The way he'd said that made Lily wonder. For several seconds, Jesse's eyes wandered as if he was remembering it all.

His smile came back quick enough as he finally looked at her, "Then _you_ came." She stayed quiet and listened intently to her brother, "Things just got better. We would go to movies, and you'd be the quietest, best behaved baby anybody'd ever seen." He stated proudly, "When we'd get home, Dad and I would recite the whole damn movie we just saw and you'd watch with _such _attention, like you actually enjoyed us jumping around the house and me acting like I was John Wayne." He laughed softly.

Lily wished so badly she could feel the same way Jesse was now, but truth was, she didn't remember anything. How could she have? She was just a baby. It made her happy to see him remembering those moments.

Jesse's smile faded, "But eventually Jody and TC were able to track mom down." Lily's heart sank as he continued the story, "You were home with Dad, but mom went out to the shops and I went with her. Jody and TC busted down the front door of the market we were in, brought us back here."

His eyes were thoughtful as they squinted a bit while he tried to gather his memories he'd tried so hard to suppress, "You and I were separated for quite a while. It took a while of mom and I being here, and I was real young so I don't remember all that much, but what I _do_ remember..." He paused a moment, "I remember mom being so scared here. She was trying to find a way to get at least _me _out of Angelville. For days, I remember her telling me the plan over and over. Daddy would be waitin' just down the road. And that when I got to him, and back to you, I had to do everything I could to stay away from this place, and to protect you until she met us. And we could live and be happy again."

Jesse's eyes moved down to the ground, and his voice was lower, making Lily more anxious, "I ran out one night. She'd gotten me ready for it and she'd told me over and over _exactly _what to do." He was holding his breath, "When I got to dad, they were a step ahead of our mother's plan. Before I could get away with him, Jody had us. He threw dad to the ground in front of me and told him to say what he had to. Dad told me all he could in that moment, but the thing I remember most is him telling me that I had be one of the good boys, cause there's too many of the bad."

With her heart in her throat, Lily listened to her brother as he explained what had happened. His eyes were red, "Then Jody shot him dead. And dragged me back here."

Lily stayed still for a while, absorbing everything that was just learned, "How old were you?" She finally asked.

"Around 8" He stated.

"And where was I?"

"Dad left you behind in safe keeping during his attempt. You were back in Annville. With Mike, actually..."

Lily remembered meeting Mike several weeks ago. He was an old family friend, she knew that, but she had no idea how entwined with her family history he really was. He'd had a box of pictures, memories and more that Jesse had told him to put away. But when Jesse had gone to the washroom, Mike brought it out, eager to show Lily more. There was a picture of her mother, Tulip and Cassidy had seen it too, and when they'd got back to New Orleans, Cassidy had taken that picture of her mother and given it to Lily. She wondered where that picture ended up between the events leading up to now.

"You couldn't've be more than a two or three years old." Jesse continued, "When our dad didn't make it back, Mike expected the worst." Jesse took a puff of the smoke in his hand, "I was stuck here. With mom." He blinked, thinking some more, "I remember mom going from scared and fighting with her every being for our survival to completely destroyed after dad was killed. She cried all the time. She told me to never speak a word about you, in fear they might go after you next."

Lily nodded, trying to digest it all.

"When I talked to Mike about it later in life," Jesse explained, "He said he was at a loss during that time. When dad didn't come back, he had you, a baby, in his care that he didn't ask for. He didn't know what else to do other than hand you over to the police and report dad's missing case."

"What happened to her?" Lily asked, "To.. _mom_?" The word sounded so foreign to Lily coming out of her mouth.

"About a year later, a friend I made here, Billy-Bob.." Jesse's lips were straightening and it made Lily nervous. She knew it wasn't a happy-ending story, but it didn't make it any easier. "Him and I had this dog we grew to like havin' around. One day Jody got annoyed and nailed this dog to a fence post and killed it."

Lily's brow narrowed in disgust as Jesse continued, "I _lost _it. Mom was trying to put up a fight when gran'ma came out and started reaming me out but we got pulled opposite directions. I ended up in this..." He paused, trying to find the right words, "Fucked up form of manner-correction gran'ma and the monsters here came up with. Called it 'the Coffin'. Stuck me in a coffin and threw me to the bottom of the swamp over there." Jesse raised his chin slightly, and Lily followed his gesture to the large body of water on the other side of the property.

"There was a tube inside that let me breathe - hardly. Soon the whole thing reeked of my puke, shit and piss. I tried taking myself somewhere else during my times in there." Jesse groaned.

"_Times_? It happened more than once?" Lily said in pure shock.

Jesse's eyes squinted as he moved his head side to side slowly, "This time... I was in there for about a week, I'd say."

Lily's jaw dropped, she was completely speechless, "How-" She shook her head, with her mouth open and unable to find the right question first, "How old were you at this point?"

"I was maybe nine my first time." Jesse stated, "When mom was fighting gran'ma from having me go in that coffin... I remember, before I was thrown in there..." When Jesse paused, Lily felt her stomach twist. His eyes proved he was reliving that moment and she could tell how difficult it was for him to talk about it. When he finally spoke again, his voice was low and his words were slow and carefully thought, "As young as I was... I _still _noticed **it **in gran'ma's eyes... Whatever **it **takes to kill your own kid... To cold-bloodely decide, the girl's no use any more... all we need's her boy and she sure as Hell ain't worth this... gran'ma _had _it." Jesse hissed lowly.

Lily felt her body tense.

"When they pulled me out of the mess I made in there nearly a week later, mom was gone." Jesse stated. Feeling her blood run cold, Lily stayed quiet, and thankfully, Jesse continued, "The first time I snuck out of school and traveled to Annville to go find you I was about 10. Dad was gone. Mom was gone. My only friend I made, Billy-Bob was killed by Jody and TC. Everything around me in this place was dead. I was so lonely. I thought about you a lot during those times. But I was afraid. Afraid that if they ever caught me seeing you, that you'd end up here too, and you'd die just like everyone else around me did."

He looked at her, "But I still couldn't stop thinking about you. Finally I couldn't stand it any more and I started making it out as much as I could to see you."

Lily nodded thoughtfully, her lips trembling as she struggled to hold back the tears, that quickly began rolling down her cheeks. Her brothers words were really getting to her, as well there was the fact she was trying to consume all the information he'd had finally given her. Suddenly, she realized why he kept so much from her. Her voice wavered as she spoke quietly, "It's no wonder you never told me anything, Jess." She said, "Jesus fucking Christ."

It was terrifying to imagine that their own grandmother was behind the reasoning they'd lost everything they ever had. Marie L'Angelle killed Jesse and Lily's parents... she killed her own _child._ Lily felt sick to her stomach with both sadness and fury.

Jesse could see the emotions brewing inside of his sister. Now that the facts were laid out, he tried changing the direction of discussion, "What do _you_ remember growing up?" Jesse asked.

He'd never asked her a question like that before. Their upbringing wasn't something they went on about, causing her to forget a lot of things.

"Uh," She sat up, wiping her runny nose with her arm with her eyes looking upwards as if it was hard to recollect, which it was, "I remember... moving between foster homes when I was young. I remember missing you, too... and wishing you'd come back." She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Jesse as she exhaled, "I remember kids making fun of me cause I had no parents, and as I got older, I remember them making fun of me because I had a 'made up' brother." She lowered her eyes, rolling them slightly as she leaned into him, "They never believed you were real."

Jesse's heart was aching, "You know why, right? Cause I never let anyone see me. I'd have to sneak out of Angelville to come visit you so often, and I didn't want anyone seeing me in Annville. Every visit broke my heart more. You were bigger and bigger each time I felt like I was missing out on everything in your life."

"What else?" Jesse asked thoughtfully, "What else do you remember?"

He was relieved when he saw her smile. She let out a soft chuckle as more tears streamed down, "Tulip." She sang. Jesse was thankful to see the grin spread across Lily's mouth as she wiped the tears off her face. Lily nodded for a moment, before turning and staring with her burning, teary eyes into her brothers, "I remember a lot more after Tulip became part of my life." Lily figured that was because there was a lot more good to remember once Tulip entered her life.

"Tulip was the only one who believed me that you existed." Lily laughed, her nose stuffy from crying as she sniffled.

"That's cause I started sneakin' out to see her too." Jesse smiled, facing forward as he zoned out to the grass in front of them, "Tulip O'Hare." There was a few seconds before Jesse took a sharp breath, his eyes moving back to his sister at his side as he leaned into her, "She was the only one that ever caught me sneaking to see you. Clever as Hell since the beginning." He shook his head, staring forward again as his mind wandered, "Loved her since we were kids."

"I know." Lily said, remembering the all of them when they were younger together.

There were a few seconds of quiet as each of their thoughts kept them busy. Lily's brow crinkled, "I always thought you went to a private school far away and that's why you were only around sometimes." With a deep exhale, Jesse adjusted his position on the large boulder they sat on, "Yea, well, now you know. I wasn't in private school. I was here. Living through Hell."

He took a deep breath, "I finally got out of here, and that's when I grabbed you, when you were just about done high school and made sure we got the Hell out of dodge."

For the most part, Lily remembered the most of her life during those years. Jesse showed up one day and suddenly, Tulip and Jesse were telling Lily it was time for bigger, better things. Those times were the best. Lily finally had a permanent home with the two of them, even if that meant moving every few months. It wasn't the places they were, it was the fact that they were together. Tulip and Jesse pretty well raised Lily during her teenage and young adult life. She owed everything she was to them. There was so much that happened during those times, but Lily couldn't remember any bad memories. Lily nodded, realizing just how much her brother had done for her.

Suddenly, the flurry of good moments in her head came to a stop as she was ripped back to reality, "So our grandmother killed both of our parents?" Lily stated out loud.

"I've never known what truly happened to our mother." Jesse stated, "But like I said. I saw it in our gran'ma's dead eyes." He was shaking his head, "Mom wouldn't abandon us like that on her own will, that I know for sure." He shook his head, "I never wanted to tell you the truth because I didn't want you to know anything about this place. I lived with so much guilt and grief after everything that happened with our family. After I finally got the fuck outta here, I just wanted to protect you and make sure you didn't have to go through anything that I did."

Lily nodded.

"Angelville is a fucked up place, Lil." Jesse stated, "This is the most goddamned awful place there is. If the devil created Texas like some folks say, then _this_ is where he rested on the seventh day."

"Hm." Lily continued nodding, not doubting what he said.

"You've always been gifted, Lily. In many ways." Jesse stated, "But your gift. Your... _visions _you've experienced through the years... They're something much bigger." Lily studied his eyes as he continued, "We have it in our blood, you much more than myself, this... I don't even know what to call it." Once again, Jesse was shaking his head in frustration. He shrugged his shoulders, "I couldn't teach you, so I tried to hide it. I saw what our gran'ma was capable of doin' in my time of being here, and it was only hateful, hurtful shit. I was scared. Scared you'd end up like her." He admitted. His eyes moved up to hers, and she couldn't blame him for that. He exhaled, "It wasn't right for me to do, but like I said, I thought I was doing something good. That might very well not be the fucking case. I hope you can forgive me for that."

"Of course." Lily said without doubt.

Jesse moved his eyes from hers and glanced around quickly, before staring back into her eyes intently, "You need to be _very_ careful. Protect yourself and don't let gran'ma or any of her piece of shit monsters tell you to do somethin' without me knowin', understand?" He warned.

"What did she do to us?" Lily asked, raising her left hand and showing Jesse her palm. His right hand had an identical scar, mirrored. It looked no more healed than hers was, leading her to believe Cassidy's blood had no healing affect on it since Jesse's looked no worse than hers. It was as if the wound was closed, but over top of it was a very dark red film - almost black. "Gran'ma holds our life in our hands until we repay a debt to her. She thinks I ruined her business by running away like I did." Jesse huffed, "As if I had somethin' to do with no more souls coming around these parts for her to harvest." He spat bitterly, lighting another smoke.

"Soul harvesting?" Lily asked, "Is _that _why you knew so much about all that run around with the Saint that one day?"

"There's a lot more to that. I could go on forever." Jesse stated, "Soul harvestin'. Monsters. All kinds of wicked and evil things. Supernatural tactics and all sorts of fucked up shit." He shook his head, thinking about what they would do to Cassidy if they found out he was a vampire, "Cass _especially_ needs to be very careful around here." Jesse said quietly, "It'll be real bad if any of them find out about him."

Lily nodded, "I'll make sure he knows."

"Speaking of Cassidy.." Jesse exhaled, "I'd like to start that part over, if you let me." He asked genuinely. With her eyes looking into her brothers, she shook her head softly, "Jesse, you know I'm not the one you need to start over that over with." He nodded, knowing that Cassidy had been the one that Jesse had been worse to, "Still. I acted like a real jackass. Couldn't have made you too proud."

Lily's face scrunched, remembering the fact that the Grail had placed a hidden camera in the apartment back in New Orleans, showing Jesse footage of Cassidy and Lily having sex, "It's not your fault you found out the way you did."

Jesse cringed almost immediately, taking a larger than usual drag from the cigarette between his fingers, "Yeaaa." He said with a clenched voice as he eventually exhaled a large trail of smoke, "I _really_ fucking wish I could remove that from my mind forever." Jesse groaned. "I know." Lily said quickly, "I know." Jesse did anything to put anything else in his mind other than the image he had of Cassidy and his little sister, "Another reason to beat the shit out of Starr." He stated bitterly.

Though it was hard to look at him with all that in mind, Lily found the courage to, "I wish I had figured out a way to tell you sooner but things were so damn chaotic. You were pretty side tracked yourself, hardly wanted to have a fucking beer with us, let alone did I have the opportunity to tell you what was going on with my personal life."

"Yea," Jesse nodded, knowing how incredibly stubborn and tunnel-visioned into finding God he was. His relationship with all of them had suffered because of his determination with tracking down God, "How'd that even happen?" He asked curiously, "With... _Cassidy_?"

Lily took a breath in, trying her best to compile her thoughts and explain things somewhat properly.

Jesse realized how harsh that sounded, "I just mean, I would've never expected someone like him to catch your attention in that way."

Lily's eyes glared the slightest and Jesse sat straighter, "Not like _that_. I dont mean-" He huffed, dragging his hand to his forehead as he rubbed it, "Goddamn it, I don't know _what _I mean."

"No I get it." Lily sighed, "Why would an uptight, too-good, materialistic, selfish bitch like me see anything in anyone but myself, right?"

"That's not it! It's just-" Jesse struggled to convey his genuine curiosity in the proper way. Without judgment, "Well, you've never been one much for findin' yourself a boyfriend or having _any_ romantic kind of relationships going on, that's all. _That's _the only reason why I'm havin' such a hard time explaining what I mean." He dragged from his smoke again, "I didn't exactly have to worry about you running around and fallin' head over heels with the first guy you laid your eyes on." He raised his brows and held his hands out, "You were never boy crazy, thank God. Never gave me the opportunity to meet a boyfriend or anythin' like that, _you_ were normally the one telling them to fuck off yourself."

Lily raised her brows, "I _did _tell Cassidy to fuck off. Many times." Lily specified, "But somehow, some way he still found a way to want to be around me."

Jesse lowered his brow as he stared at her. They stared into each others eyes, and suddenly, in the tensity of the conversation, Jesse and Lily burst out into laughter together. They were both relieved at the sudden outburst as the whole situation seemed to be a lot less tense and awkward than it was to begin with.

After a little while, Lily readjusted herself on the large rock they sat on. She thought about it all and eventually she took a deep breath and cleared her throat, "I guess..." She paused, thinking about her words one last time before she said them out loud, "I guess it made me realize I'm done being that selfish bitch I was my whole life, Jesse." She said genuinely, "I just want to be with people that love me. And that's you three. We are all we've got."

Jesse nodded, glancing at the ground before looking back up to her, "Does that mean he's told you he loves you?" He asked somewhat interrogatively, but mostly just curious to know how serious things were between them. Lily's eyes moved thoughtfully as she shook her head, "He loves all of us, Jesse. I'm sure he'll remind you that himself if you just prove you want a do-over about all this." Jesse nodded, thinking about the entire situation, "So you two are serious, then?"

Jesse could see that Lily struggled to find the right words at first. Finally, she took a quick breath, "Listen. This whole thing is all new to me." Lily stated, "It's hard for me to come out and say anything about it, cause to be honest.. him and I have hardly talked about it, so..." She thought about Tulip yelling at the two of them to get their shit together so long ago. She should've listened to Tulip then and there, "We gotta get our shit together." Lily said aloud, quoting Tulip's advice she'd given to them.

Lily thought of how they connected to begin with. She thought about the reliance she had to his blood and part of her wanted to explain it to her brother, but there was already so much to process between them. She kept it simple, "I need him, Jesse." That had sounded a lot more serious, and completely different context to Jesse, him not knowing about her reliance to Cassidy's blood. Lily blinked, then again, once the words came out, she wasn't sure if she was referring to just that after all.

"Damnit." Jesse spat, "I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could come to me. I guess that's what I get for hiding so much from you. Didn't teach you to open up about things too well, I suppose." Lily didn't have a response. Jesse wasn't exactly wrong.

"You don't mind if I talk to him, then?" Jesse asked softly. Lily raised her brow, "As long as you don't make it into world war fucking three, I don't care." Jesse smiled, finishing the smoke in his hand as Lily leaned towards him, "For the record," She continued, "He's given me Hell every day since him and I hardly had anything going on about you not knowing. I practically threatened his life every day since, if that helps his case."

Jesse nodded thoughtfully, "Hm." He hummed, "It does." Stomping out his cigarette, he leaned back on the rock they sat on, staring at the large house a distance away in front of them, "I know this is a lot. I'm sure lots more will come to your mind while we're here." He shook his head and looked back at her, "No more hiding anything. If you want to talk, I'm here. I'm sorry to have to put you through all this. All I've known my whole life is the instinct and drive to just make sure you're safe. And happy. It took me a long time, but I think I've finally realized that you're a grown woman now and not everything that makes me happy makes you happy."

"Hey." Lily whispered softly, "That's not true. Lots of things that make you happy make me happy, too. Like cowboy movies... Tulip... Guns... A good bar fight..."

Jesse laughed, grabbing Lily and hugging her tight, "I love you Lily. More than anything." Jesse said, squeezing his sister.

"I love you too, Jesse." Lily assured, hugging him back just as hard.

He kept her tight in his arms, "I'm gonna do everything I can to get us the Hell out of here as quick as possible." He promised, before he pulled back, staring at her with intensity, "But for that to happen, we all gotta work together. And Gran'ma's gonna need some convincing."


	7. Mothers Room

_Sorry for being gone for so long I did a massive trip to Asia and just finally am back and in the swing of things! Usually I leave my pre-written chaps to a friend of mine (Thank you miss Tee :-) ) to upload and proof for me but the next chapters I have written are so scrambled I didn't have time to leave her with anything making sense to upload. Thanks to those of you for sticking with this fic! Onward we go!_

* * *

Inside, Cassidy had been in the room with Tulip, nervous as Hell as he worried what might be going on with the Custers. "Cass." Tulip whined annoyingly, still relaxing in the bed, "Will you stop fuckin' pacing around the damn room and sit back down!?"

Adjusting the sunglasses on his nose, Cassidy frowned, "_Sorry_," He said dramatically, his voice fairly loud, "It's jus' the last time they were off alone, they' formed some sorta... demented..._ blood pact_ that jus tied their entire lives to their ugly shit faced grandmother's control, n'next thing I know, Lily's stopped breathin' entirely, n'her grandma almost fuckin' killed 'er then n'there, like!" He ranted in concern.

Tulip leaned her head back against the wooden bed frame, her eyes closed as Cassidy rambled. "Cass." She sighed, "You said that already."

With his eyes wide, Cassidy shook his head and shrugged, "Alright, well you were out dead, so, maybe y'don't think it's quite as serious as I do, like, but you really should-"

When the bedroom door opened, Tulip was relieved to see Cassidy had stopped mid-sentence. It was Jesse. Almost immediately, he smiled at Tulip, reassuring Cassidy that nothing terrible had happened this time him and his sister went off on their own this time.

"Where's Lily?" Cassidy asked right away.

As Jesse walked further into the room towards the bed Tulip sat up in, he tilted his head back, "She's in the bedroom getting ready for the day." He explained, "We got some work to do." Cassidy's momentum quickly shifted for the door, until he exchanged a quick look with Jesse, stopping him in his tracks a moment. There was silence, and Tulip watched from the other side of the room as the two of them stared at one another - their energy very different. Tulip could see how stiff Cass was compared to Jesse, who seemed to be the loosest he'd been in years. Although Jesse didn't look his best at the moment, Tulip could definitely see the Jesse she fell in love with in the first place begin to emerge for the first time in too long. Tulip's eyes shifted back to Cassidy. He was uptight and rigid, like he had far too much tension built up in him. His eyes burned over his sunglasses as he looked directly into Jesse's tired eyes, almost expecting him to say something.

Jesse had lots to say, but he knew it wasn't the time or place yet. After a few seconds, Cassidy dragged his eyes from Jesse and walked out of the bedroom.

It was only a few quick strides before he was in the room Lily and himself claimed as theirs during their stay at Angelville. He was relieved to see her as she turned to see who it was walking in. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Wot's amatter?" Cassidy asked quickly, "Wot happened this time?" He worried.

"Nothing." Lily stated, shaking her head. As he approached her side, he was relieved to see her smile as she rolled her red eyes, "Well, that's not true. I just got a major dose of reality and I think I'm so fucked up from everything that's happened lately that I don't know if I'll ever process anything the same again." Her voice was a bit muted, due to her stuffed nose. She must've known how foreign she sounded, trying her best to sniff through the build up in her sinuses.

Letting out a choppy breath, she collapsed back onto the bed and sat down, taking a moment before she looked up at Cassidy, her voice was quiet, "Jesse told me about what happened to our parents." Cassidy flinched the slightest on spot, staring at her broken face as she swallowed a lump in her throat. He remembered her telling him how sensitive of a subject that had been their whole life and how she always wondered. No wonder she was so shaken. Pressing her lips together she sniffed again, "He told me."

Lily's eyes fixed on the tall wooden dresser in front of them against the wall, and she wasn't sure why. Her eyes began examining it, following down to the floor to see a variety of things tucked underneath it on the ground. Part of her wondered if her mind was trying to distract herself from everything else going on inside of it.

With a shallow exhale, Cassidy sat at her side, grabbing her leg in a supportive manner as his mind wandered. He remembered the night they were out in New Orleans together and they'd found a poster advertising Angelville, she'd been dead set that since Jesse had the same tattoo as the symbol on the poster that they had something to do with each other, and she'd been right.

With his voice softer than ever, Cassidy leaned towards her gently, pulling Lily out of her sudden fascination with the piece of old, boring furniture her eyes had been picking apart in front of her, "Well, that's what you wanted, right?" He recollected, remembering her talking about how much of a mystery her family's past had been and how much it had bothered her.

As she bobbed her head one side to the other, she sniffled again, "I mean, yea, but now I kind of wish I could go back to just not knowing about any of this at all." She admitted, her red eyes looking to him at her side as her lips made a crooked smirk.

Cassidy recalled telling her the exact same thing. Back in New Orleans, he'd mentioned it was probably reasoning Jesse had been so closed up about it all. It made him think about how he'd cut ties to his family completely when he was turned into a vampire. Sometimes, things were harder to bring to the light than keeping them in the dark forever - but he wasn't about to go on about that to her now. With his throat a bit dry, Cassidy swallowed, keeping his mouth shut and his thoughts inside for once. He had to remind himself how young she was and how many lessons in life she still had to learn.

Lily's voice pulled him out of his train of thought, "Jess told me Angelville used to be a busy tourist attraction. Guess after he left things sort of went to shit and our grandmother's holding the downfall of their business against him. Along with a shitstorm of other history."

With his brow lowering, Cassidy listened as Lily began explaining everything that her and Jesse had just covered. It was a lot to take in for Cassidy, but as Lily talked about it and explained it all the way Jesse had, she began ingesting it more herself. Inside, she felt her core begin to burn as the emotions and feelings stirred together. The pain and suffering this place held inside of it. The Hell they would likely go through being here - it all began to make sense to her more and more.

Finally, she'd regurgitated everything the best she could - and Cassidy, for once, had very little to say. Taking a breath, Lily stared at him, "So we have to do what we can to convince gran'ma that we're in her best interest while Jesse works on getting his soul back from the Grail." Simply nodding, Cassidy agreed, "Alright." He said lowly.

With her voice even quieter than it was before, she leaned close to him, "You need to be careful here, Cass." She warned, "Don't let anyone know you're a vampire and just try and lay low, alright?" Given everything Lily had just explained in mind, Cassidy couldn't argue, "Alright." He repeated, wanting her to feel as in control as she could be in the situation where they entirely weren't.

He watched her mouth go a bit crooked, "Something tells me leaving Angeville won't be as simple as delivering our paid debt to our grandmother and just walking out of here." As he continued to nod, his gut told him the same thing. With everything that had already happened, it wasn't hard to piece together that getting out of Angelville wasn't going to be anything short of a nightmare.

"That picture of my mother you took from Mike's for me..." Lily asked, "Do you know what happened with it?"

Cassidy shook his head, "I gave it to you after I stole it."

Nodding her head slowly, Lily remembered placing it in a drawer back at the apartment in New Orleans. It must've been packed in her stuff somewhere, she thought, glancing at her couple of bags in the corner of the bedroom. "Your hair looks nice like that." Cassidy noted, trying his best to divert the energy into something completely opposite.

Lily side eyed the mess of hair framing her face. It was in frizzy curls, a big poof of a mess. Styling herself hadn't been her priority, for obvious reasons. With a soft laugh, Lily ran her hands through her hair and tied it up in a knot on the top of her head. Cassidy's eyes were soft as they peaked above his sunglasses frames, "You didn't sit still very much through the night." He stated.

"Sorry." Lily said, "Couldn't have been good company to try and get some rest beside."

"I didn't sleep." He stated. Lily's brow raised slightly, studying how awake and normal he was, "You're not exhausted?"

In the crazy moment, it was nice to see Cassidy grin as wide as he did and laugh, "I don't need to sleep at'all Lily. I told ye, I drank a glutinous amount of those blood bags we 'ad stocked in the boot o'the car, there. I'm as fit as a fiddle." He insisted, once again letting her know how on his toes he was.

With her brow crinkling, she shook her head softly and glanced around his face, "Then why do you?"

His lips straightened as they pressed together and he bobbed his head back and forth, "Make me feel more normal, I guess."

"Hm." Lily hummed quietly, her eyes moving forward to the dresser again. There was a few seconds of silence before Lily broke it, "You could get so much more done without sleeping." She stated, still looking forward.

"Ah." Cassidy groaned, "Not my thing. Yer the productive one, 'member?" He swung his head back to her and he was grateful to see her gaze move back to him as both of their straight faces broke and they halfheartedly laughed.

Considering the facts of everything and the darkness of the moment they were in, it was nice to have a moment of humorous banter to just pretend that there weren't a million things wrong around them.

* * *

Less than an hour later there was a soft knock at their door, followed by Jesse's voice on the other side, "Lil? Cass?" Lily popped out of the washroom that was attached to the bedroom, drying her hair with a towel as she'd taken it upon herself to have another bath, "Yea?"

"Can I come in?" Jesse asked.

"Yea." Lily repeated, seeing Cassidy's brow lower and his body language change almost immediately. When Jesse walked in, he closed the door behind him, glancing at Cassidy laying on the bed with his phone in his hand and looking to his sister who was in new clothes and nearly ready by the looks of it. Jesse walked towards his sister, his voice low, "Tulip needs to rest a little longer. She should be good by tomorrow." Jesse explained, "Cass-" He turned towards the bed, "Would you mind staying here and keeping Tulip company and helpin' her out with anything?"

Hardly moving his glance from his phone, Cassidy pressed his lips together and raised his brows, hardly showing his eyes behind his sunglasses, "Sure."

Turning back to Lily, Jesse shifted his weight, "Unless you wanna stay here with her." Jesse stared at his sister. Lily thought about that for a moment, her hands holding the towel that was scrunching her wet hair freezing on spot. She didn't know what she wanted at first.

"I'd rather get out for a bit." She quickly decided.

"Alright." Cassidy agreed.

Jesse walked over to the other side of the room, to the dresser that caught Lily's attention a few times now. "This was our mothers room." Jesse picked up a picture frame sitting on the top of the dresser, "Lots of her stuff still scattered around here. Didn't really clean much of her stuff after she died." He stated bitterly, staring at the picture of his mother standing miserably beside their grandmother. It was eerie, her belongings practically untouched - left to an eternity of gathering dust and being entirely disregarded. Angelville never truly laid her to the rest that she deserved - just another thing that made her death impossible to accept for Jesse.

"Hm." Lily hummed, finding odd she'd just had a weird moment of fascination with the dresser her brother decided to walk up to. She dropped the towel from her head to her side and followed her gut on saying something, "What's with that?" Jesse raised the picture frame in his hand, "This is her and gran'ma-" He started, referring to the picture in the frame he held. "No." Lily interrupted, walking towards him as she held an arm out, pointing at the dresser, "That."

"What?" Jesse asked, shifting his weight back. He stared at the old piece of furniture in front of him, "The dresser?" He asked, confused. Lily nodded, dropping her arm finally. Shaking his head, Jesse crinkled his brow, "Nothing's with it." He said. Jesse took his foot and gave a soft kick to the leg of the dresser, "It's just an old dresser that's been here longer than I can first remember."

There was a concerned look on Lily's face that she didn't even notice herself. Cassidy watched intently from the bed, and suddenly, Lily realized how her face must've looked considering the looks both Jesse and Cassidy were giving back at her.

"What?" Jesse finally asked. Lily felt her face rest, shaking her head, "Nothing." She said, grabbing a hairbrush from a bag sitting on the floor in the bedroom, "Just losing my mind, maybe." She mumbled. With a soft chuckle, Jesse placed the picture back down on the dresser and walked towards his sister, giving her a playful soft slap on the back as she slowly gathered her things for the day, "That seems to be the normal thing as you get older, but try not to let it happen. I rely on that young mind of yours." He teased.

"Pff." Lily let out a halfhearted playful scoff at her brother, when suddenly, there was a loud **_SMACK _**that caught all three of them by surprise. Lily jumped upright from the bag she'd been leaning in and Jesse had spun around, their eyes moving to the dresser. The picture frame Jesse had put back down had fallen flat on it's face.

The three of them stared at it, the same look of pure shock on all of them. Even Cassidy had placed his phone down and didn't hide the clear shock written on his face.

"Weird coincidence." Jesse stated quickly, "Must've put it down wrong and it slid." His heart skipped a beat, but he also knew this place and he knew it was more likely it hadn't been a weird coincidence, but he tried to make himself as well as Cassidy and Lily believe otherwise.

"Fuck let's just go, already." Lily huffed, clearly not buying Jesse's efforts to dismiss the situation. She was out of breath suddenly as she hustled around much quicker to gather all of her things.

"Alright I'll be downstairs." Jesse stated, glancing first at the dresser again before his eyes moved to Cassidy, "Call us if anything comes up, Cass."

"Yea." Cassidy stated, nestling back into the bed as he lifted his phone to his gaze again. There was a few seconds for his mind to wonder if the house was haunted before Lily's voice broke his paranoia, "Cass?" Lily asked, walking up towards him.

"Yea?" He asked. He put his phone down, sitting up and looking at her.

"Can I ask you to do something for me while me and Jess are out?" She asked.

"Anythin'." He stated, his eyes fluttering a bit as he couldn't remember the last time she'd asked something from him. She moved her head from him to the dresser at their side, "Tear that thing apart and see what the Hell is in there." Without asking anything, he let his eyes look at it a moment before looking back to her to see her eyes intently locked on him. "Yea." He said, nodding softly, "Yea," He repeated, "O'course."


	8. Celebratory Smokes

_Hi again! Really aiming to get another chapter out tomorrow as well. Gotta make up for lost time! Cheers._

* * *

Lily had said a quick goodbye to Tulip before she made her way downstairs. Thankfully Jesse was waiting, ensuring she wouldn't be alone with anyone she may run into. "Ready?" Jesse asked from the front doorway. Pressing her lips into the most convincing smile she could, she nodded at her brother, "Yea."

When Jesse opened the front door for her, she felt a sense of relief. Seeing the beam of light come into the dark and cold environment of the house was like a gasp of air into her lungs. She felt like she might be a vampire herself, the way the sun blinded her as she got near the trail of sunlight beaming in was almost painful, yet the sun felt so good on her skin. Suddenly, a voice pulled them back, startling Lily in her short moment of relief. It was no other blood curdling voice than their grandmothers, "Jody's going with you." Madame L'Angelle ordered as she creeped toward them slowly in her wheelchair.

On cue, Jody walked out from behind Madame L'Angelle and Lily took a moment to study the large stranger who towered over her. It was safe to say that Jody was very intimidating. Knowing the fact he'd shot and killed her father gave Lily the feeling of terrifying chills and heated her up with rage all at once. Feeling her stomach turn, Lily did her best to change her focus on her brother, who nodded, not arguing, "Alright."

The three of them crammed into the cab of the pickup truck, Lily sitting in the middle as she found herself squeezing close to her brothers side and avoiding Jody's massive arm that navigated the stick gear at her leg area the whole time they drove. The main priority for the Custers in the moment seemed to be advertising. They needed to find ways to get customers back to Angelville, to try and make the family business thrive once again. In their grandmother's eyes, it was Jesse's 'abandonment' that lead to the fall of Angelville, and it was up to him to fix that.

They spent hours going to all sorts of places, and Lily simply followed her brothers lead. After the first few hours of the day, she caught onto the ways of selling something she knew nothing about. She didn't have the energy for this, but somehow, she found it.

Lily was grateful she was never left alone with Jody, her brother staying close to her and if they were separated they were at least in the same room and there were plenty of people. Lily never wanted to be left for a one on one with Jody. There was something she hadn't noticed about being around Cassidy so much and it was the sense of constant security. Although he didn't show it often, Cassidy was strong and as long as he was around there wasn't much for Lily to worry about, but right now she was without him and she felt almost naked and vulnerable. She wasn't as mentally and physically there as she could be, making it harder to be away from the security of Cassidy in the moment.

Towards the end of their day, Lily caught a moment with Jesse on his own, "I've never been both told to fuck off and been hit on so much in one day." She stated. With a halfhearted chuckle, Jesse handed out an Angellville pamphlet full of phoney bullshit to entice people to a couple he was talking to as they walked away, seemingly sold on the load of shit he'd delivered to them. "At least you're getting some confidence booster. I just get the 'fuck off' side."

"Not sure if it's considered a confidence booster if they're 350 pounds and an obvious sexual predator." Lily scoffed. Jesse grinned and let out a laugh, to which Lily couldn't help but laugh back at. "Hey." She said, changing the tone and talking to her brother alone while she had the chance, "You need to talk to Cassidy before he pouts himself to death. I'm sick of seeing him cringe every time you're around."

With a heavy sigh, Jesse nodded, "I know." He admitted, "I haven't had the right time yet but I promise I'll try and smooth things over with him tonight." Nodding Lily scanned the room of the community church they were in, "I think I talked to everyone in this room already. What's next?" Jesse huffed, "I think we'll take it back after this, unless Jody had something else in mind, which he very well might." Unsure and feeling uneasy as to what that meant, Lily nodded.

As usual, Jesse was right. Jody had several errands that were needed to run. When they were finally done it was late in the night. Lily grabbed her phone and touched base with Cassidy, something they'd been doing back and forth all day. He'd texted her

**Hows it luv**

She responded,

**Think we're finally on the way back now. **

"Jody-" Jesse said, close to Lily's side as the three of them were crammed in the cab of the truck, "Mind if we stop at the general store."

The giant man at the other side of Lily grunted, "Madame Marie's expecting us back." Lighting a cigarette, Jesse swallowed the things he wanted to say and took a few deep inhales. To their surprise, Jody pulled into a small rundown general store a few miles down the road. The truck came to a quick skid of a stop.

"Be quick. And get another couple cartons of pilgrims." Jody demanded. Jesse opened the door and Lily was quick to follow but she was pulled back as Jody's giant hand grabbed her arm. In shock, Lily looked down, Jody's massive hand looking like it could snap Lily's arm if he squeezed any harder.

"Na, na, na." Jody bellowed, a cigarette hanging out his mouth, "You stay here." Lily's eyes were wide, regardless of her trying not to seem as intimidated as she was. Her desperate glance moved to her brother, standing outside the truck with the door still open.

"I'll only be a minute." Jesse assured softly, "Need anything?" Lily needed a lot of things, but her brain couldn't function with Jody's grasp on her the way it was, and she didn't want Jesse taking longer than he needed to getting her anything anyways, so she shook her head. Jesse nodded softly, his glance shifting to Jody before closing the door. It was a lot longer than she'd liked for Jody to finally let go of her arm. It was still and quiet in the cab at first, the radio was low and there was more static coming out of it than there was clear sound. Lily stared at the door of the general store, feeling like it'd been an hour since her brother left her alone with Jody when it had been less than thirty seconds.

It was clear Jody liked to make things complicated. The simple task of stopping at a store he made into a painful ordeal. Lily felt her heart throbbing that much harder, and missing Cassidy's presence that much more. She felt Jodys eyes on her and she found it more uncomfortable ignoring it than to finally stare back at him. His head was touching the roof of the truck. He puffed on his smoke as he pulled it from his mouth, "You look just like her, you know that?" Jody stated.

Lily's mouth was dry as she used everything in her to make a sound, "Who?"

"Christina." Jody hummed, "Your mother."

Lily stared at Jody, shaking her head slightly, "I've been told that." She stated awkwardly. There was more uncomfortable silence before Jody finally puffed on his cigarette a few more times and broke the quiet again, "I liked her." Jody stated, giving Lily a cold chill. She wished she had something to say to take up the terrifying silence but she couldn't muster up anything.

Luckily, Lily hadn't even noticed Jesse was out of the store. She heard a clunk in the box of the truck. As her brother got into the truck beside her, Lily's eyes moved behind her as she stared out the back window her back was against to the box of the truck, noticing a cardboard box Jesse threw in the back. Her heart skipped a beat of happiness and a wave of relief passed through her as she saw a couple bottles of alcohol including Cassidy's favorite whiskey.

* * *

When Lily got back to Angelville she B-lined it upstairs towards her room, eager to miss any interaction with anyone she didn't need to talk to. Jesse followed closely, carrying a variety of things he'd picked up.

"Did I see some wine in there?" Lily asked rhetorically, knowing damn well she saw some wine in there. Jesse smiled, "You did. Let me give some stuff to Tulip then I'll give you your reward for being such a good marketing partner today." Lily smiled, "I think I deserve a pallet of wine for my efforts." Her brother laughed, "Me too." They parted ways as Lily opened the doors into the bedroom her and Cassidy were staying in.

Cassidy was standing in the middle of the room, clearly just out of a shower as he had a towel wrapped around his waist as his hair and body were dripping wet. He obviously heard them coming as he was already facing towards the door, his one hand holding his towel up and his other adjusting the sunglasses on his face. With too much anticipation, Lily dropped her stuff she had and closed the door, making her way towards him as she kissed him.

She didn't even mind how uncomfortably wet he still was as he wrapped his arms around her and she pressed her lips as hard as she could against his. Finally, she her mouth away from his, keeping their embrace tight.

"Jaysis." Cassidy was a bit breathless as he laughed, surprised at her eagerness.

"I missed you." She admitted easily.

"Wot happened t'you out there?" Cassidy groaned teasingly.

With a roll of her eyes, Lily's shoulders dropped, "Oh, come on. I know I'm miserable but don't make me out to be a heartless wench."

Cassidy squeezed Lily into his chest immobilizing her, wiggling his hips as his towel dropped, "Look, y'got me all naked." Squirming to try and get out of his embrace, Lily let out a squeal as Cassidy pulled them back both onto the bed that was directly behind him, the both of them cackling in the lighthearted moment. It wasn't until Lily felt a jab in her back that she stopped laughing and winced in minor pain, "Ow, what the fuck?" She reached behind her to see what jabbed her in the back.

"Oh." Cassidy huffed from on top of her, loosening his grip and pulling her back off the bed, "Right. Forgot 'bout all that." He helped her back onto her feet, standing completely naked and unbothered. Lily's eyes glanced at the bed, covered in miscellaneous items. "This is all the shite I pulled out of that dresser like ye asked." Cassidy explained. Lily almost forgotten she'd asked him to do that, her eyes studied all the things Cassidy had laid out on the bed. There were pieces of clothing, some assorted papers, a jewelry box, some accessories - nothing that looked out of the normal. Lily found her hands grabbing a few things and studying them as she hummed, "Anything stand out to you?"

Shaking his head at her side, Cassidy hummed back at her, "No. Not really." He reported, "Jus a bunch of borin' shite." With her eyes glancing over everything, Lily nodded before looking back to Cassidy, "Thanks for doing that." She began grabbing everything and placing it back in the drawers of the dresser, while Cassidy found himself some clothing and picked up his towel. "How was Tulip today?" Lily asked. "Fine." Cassidy said, "She's feelin' more like 'er usual self every minute. She's doin' good." With a nod, Lily let out a deep breath, "Good. I'm going to go see her."

* * *

When Lily went across the hallway to her brother and Tulip's room, Jesse was nowhere to be seen. As she said hello to Tulip, she noticed how much better she looked even today. "You're looking really good." Lily stated. With her lips pursing out, Tulip rubbed her arms and glanced down at herself, "Ya think?" She asked, "I'm starting to feel back to my normal self." Tulip said, "At first when I came to all I wanted to do was sleep, but that's not the case anymore." With her eyes fluttering Tulip huffed, "I told Cass I wanted to get out of here and go for a walk today but he insisted on bedrest. I mean, I feel like I could run a marathon by now." With a smile, Lily nodded, happy to hear the news, "I'll try and convince Jesse to let us to get you out of this room and we can both go run a marathon together tomorrow." Tulip studied Lily a moment, realizing she was still most definitely not back to her normal self yet. She tried to change the subject of their self checkups, "How was it?" Tulip asked right away, "Today, doing your first work shift for the family business and all that?" With a huff, Lily raised her brows and her mouth was crooked, "It was whatever." She sighed, shifting her weight on spot as she stuck her hands on her hips, "Did Jess leave any wine in here?" Tulip pressed her lips together and stuck them out as she shook her head, "I saw no wine." She stated, her eyes glancing around just in case she missed it.

"Hm." Lily hummed, her eyes scanning around the room quick to look for a bottle just in case before she gave up. Lily arched her brow and looked behind her, as if someone could be watching the two of them, before she sat at Tulip's side in the bed, "Did Jesse talk to you about anything to do with this place? Or our family?" Nodding softly, Tulip swallowed nervously, "How are you feeling?" Raising her eyebrows Lily found herself sitting next to Tulip on the bed. She lifted her shoulders with a crooked smile, "Overwhelmed. Good. Sick to my stomach. Kind of happy. Kind of miserable. I mean it's everything we always wanted to know about, right? I was telling Cass this morning now I'm finding myself wishing I never asked about it." Lily laughed nervously. She was happy when Tulip followed suit, chuckling softly back, "Yea, me too." Tulip agreed.

"Given everything I learned I feel all sorts of misery and hatred, but talking to Jesse this morning-" Her eyes flickered up to Tulip, "That was the most I've really felt the Jesse I've always known and loved. You know? I really recognized him." "Me too." Tulip agreed, noticing Lily's thoughtful eyes lock into hers. "I won't be mad, Tulip, but did you know any of that-" "No." Tulip said quickly, "I promise, Lily, I had no idea about any of it until he talked to me last night. I never knew the Hell your brother went through. The Hell you _all_ went through as a family." Tulip shook her head and exhaled deeply, "I mean, shit, we all have our sob stories and that, and no one's the perfect parent but damn it, your family shit is _heavy_." Tulip stated.

Judging by the mortified tone in her voice and look on her face, she was as shocked as Lily was about the discoveries they'd been told by Jesse. Not that Lily would've been upset had Tulip known more than what Lily did, but it was a relief in a way that they were both in the state of discovery and shock together.

Lily mirrored Tulips nod, before taking a quick sharp breath, "You know, I wanted to stay with you today, but... I was afraid of being here with my grandmother without Jesse around." Lily admitted. Raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips Tulip scoffed, "I can't say I blame you." There was a dark streak in Lily's eyes as she lowered her voice while she spoke to Tulip, "Something happened. I think she did something to me. I blacked out, but first I saw all these things and I can't remember what they were."

Suddenly, Tulip's brow lowered, her eyes glaring into Lilys, "What?" Lily shook her head, "It's hard to explain. All I'm saying is regardless of her fragile, weak appearance I know for a fact she's a lot stronger and more dangerous than she seems and I just want you to know that." Lily warned. Nodding slowly, Tulip tried to understand. With a dry throat, Lily leaned towards Tulip, "This place is fucked. It's playing all sorts of tricks on me and shit. I've noticed things."

As she shook her head, Tulip's brow scrunched slightly, "Whatd'ya mean?" She asked. "Things just aren't right. Like eyes on you not right, and and..." Lily stuttered as she tried to explain all the instances of disturbance she'd felt, "Things just not making sense." Lily could see Tulip wasn't understanding her. With a bit of frustration, Lily's face hardened, "It's hard to explain. I just-" She held on her words for a moment, staring into Tulip's curious eyes, "Just be careful. Ok?" There was a moment of Tulip staring into Lily's eyes before she nodded once slowly, "Alright." Tulip said simply.

Lily turned her head, changing the subject before she sounded more insane than she already did, "Where is Jess?" Tulip shrugged, "He was just in here, dunno where he ran off to."

With a heavy sigh, Lily leaned back a bit as she raised her brows at Tulip, "He told me he was gonna talk to Cassidy." Tulip raised her eyebrows back at Lily, "Jesus." Tulip sighed, pursing her lips, "I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation." Shaking her head, Lily stood up, her eyes scanning the room, "Not me." She cringed a bit before she exhaled, turning back to Tulip, "I just hope they don't kill each other." Tulip hummed in agreement, adjusting herself on the bed a bit as she moved off some of the covers, "It's like we were saying just now, Jess seems like he has his head on more like himself. I feel like he'll fix the shit storm." Tulip stated positively. Lily thought for a moment, "I hope so."

* * *

From the bedroom across the hallway, Cassidy finished getting dressed again as he stared out the small, broken window in the corner of the room. It was pitch black outside already, and his mind wandered about how long they'd be stuck in Angelville for. He heard footsteps approaching from the stairs down the hallway. Turning his head, he listened carefully until he recognized Jesse's steps and breathing. Rolling his eyes to himself he flopped on the bed, grabbing at a comic book he had at the bottom of one of his bags and stuck his nose in it.

He noticed Jesse's steps stop outside the bedroom door and there was a knock, "Lil?" He asked from the hallway. With a huff, Cassidy kept the comic book in his line of vision, "She's in yer room." He yelled shortly. He knew that for a fact, he could hear both Lily and Tulip talking - including Lily mentioning Jesse wanting to talk to Cassidy, something Cassidy had little energy for. He didn't care what Jesse had to say. He was hurt and he just wanted to do what he had to and behave himself long enough to get them out of Angelville and hopefully convince Lily to part ways. Cassidy had been brainstorming many ways to convince Lily of that, and he was pretty sure he'd have a good chance at doing so.

To Cassidy's non-surprise, Jesse didn't leave. "Can I come in?" Jesse asked, his voice hitting straight against the door in his face.

From the hallway, Jesse waited, hearing no response. He took a deep breath and shifted his weight, his hands on his hips.

Finally, Jesse looked up to the door, "Cass." He said sharply. When there was no response again, he cut the polite act and opened the door anyway. From the other side of the room, Cassidy laid on the bed, a comic book in his face as he didn't flinch at Jesse's entrance. Carefully, Jesse closed the door behind him, a bag in his one hand as he stood at the foot of the bed.

It was silent as Jesse stared directly at the comic book cover Cassidy held up, all while Cassidy purposely ignored Jesse, going on about the comic book in his hands.

"Look," Jesse said, stopping on his words as his mind raced about everything he wanted to say and making sure it all came out the way he wanted it to. He exhaled, "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now but I had to fix things with Tulip and my sister first." There was more silence until Cassidy flipped a page in the comic, still holding it in his line of vision. Jesse maneuvered to the side of the bed so he could at least see Cassidy's face, but he still didn't look towards Jesse.

"What?" Jesse asked, shrugging his shoulders, "Suddenly you'd rather read than have a drink with your best pal?" Lowering his brow, and passing Jesse a brief glare over the top of his sunglasses on his face, Cassidy flipped the page in front of him, "_Yer best pal_." Cassidy mocked bitterly.

With another heavy huff, Jesse stood right at Cassidy's side, "Look..." Jesse said, "Enough of this sitting around in misery shit, grab this bottle of whiskey I went out of my way to get for you and let's just figure this all out." Cassidy's eyes finally shot away from the comic book in his grasp and towards the tall, dark green bottle in Jesse's hand at Cassidy's direct side. It had been a hot minute since Cassidy indulged in whiskey and his mouth salivated immediately. Finally, Cassidy's eyes moved up to Jesse's. They weren't the lively eyes Jesse was used to, but it was a start.

* * *

Lily had been rifling through one of Jesse's bags in his room, Tulip talking to her from the comfort of the bed as she did. "What are you looking for, anyway?" Tulip asked. With a groan, Lily moved her hands around Jesse's small bag, "Was hoping for a flask. Maybe mouth wash? Shit, anything to give me a buzz." Lily sighed. With a laugh, Tulip sat herself up a bit more, "Jesus, Lil. You sound like Cass."

Raising her brows towards the bag she was searching in, Lily let out a scoff, "Pff!" She laughed, "I was joking about the mouthwash. Hey-" Lily stayed crouched over the bag as she looked at Tulip, "You have cigarettes at least?" With her head shaking, Tulip's eyes moved thoughtfully, "Haven't had a smoke since before I died." She said nonchalantly. With another scoff, Lily smiled, turning back towards the bag, "We change that. Tonight. Hell, within the next hour we change that. Celebratory smokes as soon as I find them." Lily declared. From the bed, Tulip's smile was wide as she laughed at the sight of watching Lily. She looked like a fiend as she rustled through Jesse's stuff.

"How is it _Cassidy_ has nothing?" Tulip asked, "Of all people."

"I don't want to ask and him. He's been trapped here just as much as we have. What if he _doesn't_ have anything and just remind him how we're _both_ fucked?!" Lily explained.

"Come on. This is _Cassidy_ we're talkin' about. He has something for everyone, I'm sure." She laughed, "Plenty to go around I bet."

"Yea," Lily said with a clenched voice as her fingers thought they found a pack of smokes at the bottom of the bag as she pulled it out, "I said I want a _buzz_, not a trip that makes me lick these walls and get splinters in my tongue." Lily's eyes looked at the cigarette pack she found as she smiled wide and waved it up in the air at Tulip. "Nice." Tulip said with a grin. Lily opened the pack and saw it was empty, her face first dropping flat before it scrunched up. Sticking her fingers in the pack and shoving them around as if a magic cigarette would show up, she only felt loose tobacco as she dumped it upside down just to be sure, "Fuck!" She spat, throwing the empty pack across the room. Unable to contain herself, Tulip cackled.

With a huff of defeat, Lily stood up and looked around the room, "The guys bought a bunch of cigarettes and booze to put around you to entice your spirit back or some shit. All that stuff _has_ to be around here somewhere." Her eyes moved around the bed as if the shrine of things would still be set up around Tulip.

"Maybe it's still downstairs?" Tulip suggested.

Lily's eyes moved thoughtfully before her shoulders dropped. There was no way she was about to go downstairs on her own and start snooping around this place. No matter how desperate she was. Stubbornly, she dropped back to the floor and opened Jesse's bag back up again, "Maybe I missed something." Lily insisted. With another cackle, Tulip continued to watch Lily in her efforts. Suddenly, the door opened. It was Jesse.

His eyes caught his sisters right away as she crouched over his bag, elbow deep as she kept moving things around inside of it. "Hey." She said simply, looking up at him.

Jesse's eyes lifted up to Tulip, a big sneer on her face as Jesse looked back at his sister, "We're gonna sit outside for a drink." Jesse said, titling his head back towards Lily's bedroom. Both Lily and Tulip knew Jesse meant "we" as him and Cassidy. "Oh." Lily said, a little out of breath as she continued to feel around in Jesse's bag on the ground, "Great." Jesse watched her a moment before finally asking, "Need something?" He asked. His sister stopped her search, pulling her arm out and turning to him.

"Forgetting something?" Lily mocked back impatiently. She watched as her brother, towering over her scrunched his face as her. In retaliation, she scrunched her face back and leaned towards him.

Jesse opened the door a bit more, looking to a dresser beside the door as she tilted his head towards it, "Your wine's right there." He stated with a smirk. Lily's eyes shot up just a few feet away from her before they moved to Tulip's eyes, glued to the wine that was miraculously sitting there. "No." Lily stated, standing up quickly as she held her arm out and pointed towards the wine, "That was _not_ there."'

Lily's eyes stayed glued to the two bottles of wine and a few packs of cigarettes that sat there. Tulip watched as Jesse's lips moved into a grin, shaking his head, "Anyways. If you girls need anything we're just outside." He stated, smiling at Tulip before he looked at his sister, standing there in astonishment. "Alright?" Jesse asked.

With her glance not moving, Lily nodded once, "Yea." Lily said dismissively, moving slowly towards the dresser as she felt herself get a bit lightheaded - was she losing her mind? The wine and smokes sat there on the dresser and it felt like they were taunting her. "Alright." Jesse said before he looked back at Tulip with a smile quick. He closed the door behind him and left.

"This is the shit I'm talking about." Lily said, grabbing one of the bottles and cracking it open. "I mean-" Tulip started from the bed on the other side of the room, "It _was_ pretty distracting watching you all scattered, clawing at anything like a crack head." She said with a playful smile, "You're exhausted. It was an easy oversight."

"No." Lily insisted, shaking her head, "It wasn't." She put the other still closed bottle of wine in her arm as she drank straight from the first one she opened. She almost took her eyes off the dresser before they flickered back to the cigarettes. Snagging the pack, she pulled a smoke out and lit it before it could disappear on her.


	9. Recognizable

Jesse glanced behind him from where he sat, staring at the large house that sat in the center of the property of Angelville, shifting his weight on the old wooden bin he sat on. He had made sure to walk a ways down the driveway, hoping they wouldn't be in ear shot of anyone or anything that crept around the grounds of the property, but you could never be sure of that in Angelville. There was a faint glow from an old light of a shed nearby and it was just enough to see the outline of Cassidy who stood a few feet away from Jesse, staring out into the distance of the property.

Shifting his weight again, Jesse let the whiskey bottle in his hand hit the bin he sat on with a clunk, "You wanna do the honors?" He asked. Cassidy took a moment before dragging his feet around and facing Jesse. Even in the dark, he kept his sunglasses on.

Finally, Cassidy reached for the bottle, opening it in record timing as the corked lid came off with a distinct pop sound that was music to Cassidy's ears. Jesse was glad to see Cassidy raise the bottle to his mouth and take a good amount out of it.

Eventually, Cassidy removed the suction of his mouth to the bottle and exhaled in satisfaction. There was a few seconds of silence before he found a spot sitting next to Jesse, waiting for him to begin the conversation of what Cassidy was sure to be about a million things. He could only imagine the discussion between the Custers. It was obvious to Cassidy that Lily had most likely forced this entire thing - to bring peace to make things easier. Cassidy groaned to himself.

There was a constant sound of night bugs buzzing and chirping, but other than that they could hear each others every breath and movement, and the tensity was very uncomfortable. As the two of them sat there, Jesse felt like there was a brick wall between them. There was a noticeable distance. Jesse grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit himself one before crossing through the invisible wall and offering the pack to Cassidy, who thankfully followed suit. Jesse handed Cassidy his lighter and was relieved to see him light a smoke. As Cassidy passed the lighter back to Jesse, he tucked it into his pocket. The silence was still louder than ever, and eventually Jesse let out a deep exhale as he stared straight into the void of darkness, "I'm not going to say sorry because I feel like you don't deserve that."

Cassidy felt his blood boil, which didn't take much with him these days, but somehow he managed to keep his head on as he puffed a little bit harder at his smoke and Jesse soon continued talking, "I mean, I've been dealt a lot of bullshit from people in my time and I can only imagine how much more bullshit you've been dealt given the fact you're, what..." Jesse paused, turning to him a moment, "Ninety years on me?"

Feeling the heat inside him die down, Cassidy realized the beginning of that thought hadn't meant to be a spiteful thing. He had to be sure to listen to Jesse's words carefully before acting out on them right away. He shrugged his shoulder, exhaling a trail of smoke, "Sure." He groaned shortly.

Jesse shook his head, "I'm not going to waste your time with any more 'I'm sorry' bullshit." He did his best to try and look at him in the eye past his shades that covered them, "I'm sure you're sick of it. Instead I want you to think of all the mistakes I'm sure you've made as the man you are and know that the way I dealt with finding out about you and my sister being together as one of the biggest mistakes in my life."

In an instant, Cassidy felt himself melt. That was all he really wanted to hear was a sorry, but the way Jesse had put it was much more heartfelt than he'd imagined. Jesse was right. Cassidy _had _been dealt a lot of bullshit. The perspective Jesse put held a lot more weight than just a forced apology. One thing Jesse was right about was with Cassidy's years of experience, it was pretty easy for him to see whether someone was being genuine, and in the first few seconds of talking, Jesse seemed genuine. It made Cassidy wonder that Lily hadn't been behind this entirely after all.

Jesse's voice ripped Cassidy out of his eternal thoughts, "If I could have the chance to redo that moment I'd like to."

Cassidy lowered his brow again, confused by what Jesse was saying.

"If you'd let me." Jesse specified.

With a deep breath, Cassidy pressed his lips together and shook his head in a go-for-it manner.

Nodding his head, Jesse stared forward again, compiling his many thoughts. He rubbed his chin as he dragged from his cigarette, "Lily has never been with anyone." He stated, "Never brought anyone home for me and Tulip to meet, never coming home busting down the doors in a heartbroken fit, never come begging to me to kill some mother-fucker who broke her heart. No." He shook his head, smoke in his mouth again as his words were muffled by it, "None of that." He moved the smoke from his mouth as he exhaled.

Turning to Cassidy, Jesse had his brow scrunched, "She has got to be one of the most self absorbed people I know. So self absorbed she never cared to find anyone to be with. Part of me was beginning to wonder if Tulip and I lead an example of too much independence for her." Jesse confessed.

Cassidy sat at his side, listening intently to Jesse's words. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Cassidy finally felt like he was sitting with his friend. It had been so long since he'd recognized Jesse, it was like he was a stranger the past crazy while. It left Cassidy a bit speechless, worried saying anything might ruin this comfortable and familiar moment.

He took Cassidy's silence as a means to continue, "But lately I've noticed how different she is." He said that statement more dark than intended, and he noticed that right away, "I mean-" He back tracked, "It's a good thing. To see her change some of her ways it's just-" His words stopped as he struggled to explain how he felt put into words, and he was somewhat relieved when Cassidy finally spoke, "No, I get it." He said. Given everything Jesse had just explained, it made sense. Lily hadn't been with anyone before and obviously that caused her to change, which was a lot to take since she'd been her same self for as long as she'd been an adult. Easy enough to understand given the facts. Cassidy didn't want Jesse going on about something that he was clearly still trying to get used to.

Looking to Cassidy at his side just to make sure the words weren't sarcastic, Jesse noticed Cassidy's face had changed entirely. It was finally a glimpse of the Cassidy he knew. His face wasn't hard and cold any more. Jesse felt relieved at the pay off of the route he'd taken. Following his natural instinct had paid off, proving that much more how off path of character of himself he'd been - it wasn't going unnoticed to himself.

Finally, the two of them were recognizable to one another again. Jesse used the momentum to keep going,"Cass-" He held his breath as he struggled once again to put the words together properly. His voice was soft, "I said a lot of things that day to you that I wish I hadn't. I was seein' red and I wasn't myself. I don't want you to think I feel that way. Like the things I said.."

Already shaking his head, Cassidy reached for the bottle, "I don't blame ye, Jess. Findin' out like that." The two of them cringed in sync at the idea of Jesse seeing the vulgar footage Herr Starr had shown him of Cassidy and Lily having sex. Cassidy lifted the bottle towards his mouth, but he was shocked when it was yanked out of his hand.

"I don't think so." Jesse said, standing on his feet now and nearly knocking Cassidy over as he stole the bottle, "I need that more than you do right with that image back in my fucking mind." Jesse cranked his neck back and began downing the whiskey.

Cassidy watched for a moment in surprise and it wasn't long before Jesse pulled the bottle from his lips, liquid seeping from the corners of his mouth as he winced, dragging his sleeve over his face to clean the mess as he coughed. Suddenly, Cassidy cackled deafeningly loud, startling Jesse considering how out of place Cassidy's laugh was in the tensity of the air that was there just moments ago.

The grin across Cassidy's face was impossible not to mirror, as Jesse soon laughed back, swinging the bottle to Cassidy as he grabbed it. Jesse lowered himself to sit back in his spot, the wall that was just between them seeming to vanish in an instant.

Finally, their chuckles died down and Jesse tried to fix the mess in his head to get back to track of the things he wanted to address. Jesse bobbed his head a little bit, "I'd like to think part of me always kinda knew there was somethin' goin' on." He admitted, "I mean, I noticed things in her I've never seen before. I could tell by the way she looked at you that she really cared about you, but she'd always make it seem like it was nothin', and it's not like I was really giving much of a shit about anyone but myself the last while, so I didn't really get into it as much as I should've." His mind wandered a moment before he puffed on his cigarette, leaning back from the spot he was sitting and flicking the ash, "If I wasn't such an ass I'm sure she would've felt more open to talkin' to me." Jesse groaned. With his brow furrowed, Cassidy felt the weight of guilt hit his shoulders that he held for so long about holding everything about what had going on between him and Lily from Jesse, "I never wanted ye t'find out that way, Jess. Really, I didn't." He admitted, moving the whiskey bottle to his lips.

Jesse sat up straight, "I know." He stated, "She told me you were on her ass about telling me from the beginning."

Cassidy had the whiskey bottle in his mouth as he hummed against it eagerly, raising his brows and shaking a finger out as he quickly moved the neck of the bottle from his lips, "Fuck yea, I was!" He said a little too loudly, turning himself more open to Jesse, "That girl-" He groaned in annoyance, shaking his head, "Ugh." He lifted his head to Jesse, finally giving him a peak of his eyes. They had the wild spark in them that Jesse was happy to see again. Cassidy continued to shake his head, "She's a god damn nightmare about stuff, keepin' secrets n'shite. Don't tell Jess this, don't tell Jess that, like." He rolled his eyes, "Fuck." He cursed as he brought the bottle back up to his lips.

Feeling a sting in his gut, Jesse let those words sink in, puffing at his smoke as he hummed to himself, "She didn't want to tell me anything." He repeated, mostly for himself. "That was my fault. I created that in her." Jesse thought about all themes he'd shot her down every time she asked about their family and heritage. He shook his head to himself, "Made it seem like I wasn't a good person to come to to talk to about anything."

Moving the bottle from his lips again, Cassidy stared at Jesse at his side, noticing his obviously sorrowful tone. His voice was almost a whisper they were so soft, "I really fucked up, Cass." Jesse admitted aloud for the first time, "Keepin' all this shit-" Jesse glanced back at the house and opened his arms, "From her the way I did." He groaned, a bit of frustration showing as his words were a bit more heated, "I'm done pretendin' everything's fine. I'm finally taking responsibilities for all the things I've fucked up on, and a pretty big fuckin' part of that fucking-up is raising my sister with a whole side of our lives **full **off all sorts of secrets and completely fucked up things she had no idea about." He stopped, his blood boiling suddenly as he felt all the guilt and regret hit him.

He threw his cigarette to the ground and used his boot to grind it into the dirt with the heat he'd built up in himself as he quickly lit himself another one. Cassidy stayed quiet, not sure how to respond as he wasn't sure if Jesse was done venting just yet. He watched as Jesse dragged from the fresh cigarette, unable to look at Cassidy as Jesse raised his brows to himself, "So you can see where she got that from. The secrets. Hiding and holding back on important shit." He flicked at his smoke as he brought it back up to his mouth, "Learned from the best." He spat.

Cassidy took a moment, taking his turn to gather the right words in his head for a change, "You said so yerself, I've been here a lot longer than you. I've never met anyone like you three. You did a jus fine-" He reiterated, "-_perfect_, job raising yer sister."

Although Cassidy's words were kindhearted, they didn't fix anything Jesse was angry and regretful about. He was surprised when Cassidy leaned a little closer to him, causing him to finally look back up at him. Cassidy's glasses were completely off, and Jesse found himself a bit surprised as he caught a glimpse of the grey, filmed over eyes that looked back at him. They were soft as his voice was. "There's no one out there that gets tryin' to keep things from people to try n'protect them more than me." He said.

Jesse nodded slowly, only able to imagine the scenarios Cassidy had been through in his position. Jesse looked from one eye to another, his throat dry, "I wanted to protect her from this forever. But I had no choice."

Jesse remembered how Cassidy had rubbed the fact that there had been another choice in his face when they had first arrived to Angelville. Cassidy could have changed Tulip into a vampire. Shaking his head, Jesse exhaled, "It's not that I have anything against what you are, Cass. I just had another way to bring Tulip back without resorting to..." Jesse couldn't find words that weren't cold, "That." He settled with.

Cassidy nodded, having nothing to say. What's done was done, there was no sense going on about it for all eternity. Jesse puffed at his cigarette, "She wasn't able to make that call for herself so, ya, I did. You can call it playing God or whatever you're pissed off about but she's my partner, and I feel like I had every right to make the call I did."

"That's fair." Cassidy said. In that moment, Cassidy could've probably apologized himself for crossing a line trying to make that decision to change Tulip, but he didn't feel it was warranted. He watched as Jesse grabbed at the bottle to take another swig. Cassidy raised his brows, "Didn't think there was another way t'save 'erif I'm bein' honest." He justified, "Definitely happier that she's back to her normal self." He admitted.

Jesse put the bottle down between them and nodded, his face wincing from the burn, "So no hard feelings about all that any more?" Cassidy shook his head, "Not t'tall." He said gladly, taking the bottle back as he downed some more whiskey.

With his mind wandering, Jesse thought about his sister. How serious she'd been about her and Cassidy being together. All the questions Jesse had of what the future of his sister and best friend would look like. Feeling the buzz hitting him, Jesse felt his words coming much easier, finally getting to the topic that was burning in him the most, "You'd do anything for her?" Jesse asked, forgetting Cassidy hadn't been listening to Jesse's inner train of thought. Cassidy moved the bottle from his mouth, his brow scrunched in confusion. Jesse nodded, "Lily."

Cassidy raised a brow, "What are you gettin' at?" He asked.

"Lily's going to get old and eventually die." Jesse blurted out. Cassidy felt like he got punched in the gut as his mind processed Jesse's abrupt words. Jesse went on, "We all are. Me. Lily. Tulip. That's just what happens." He stated with a shrug. Still a bit winded from the blow of the topic, Cassidy huffed as Jesse shifted his weight, "Or do you and her have other plans?" He asked curiously.

"I-" Cassidy started immediately, but quickly held his words because he wasn't even sure what his answer was. He must've been taking too long to think about what to say because Jesse found it as an invite to speak again, "Well it's kind of an obvious fact." Jesse stated, "You can't tell me that you haven't talked about it."

With a sudden dry mouth, Cassidy shifted his weight, "We haven't." He said quietly. Cassidy had been through plenty of partners in his time, each time it would end up being anything long term there would get a point where the person he was with would start growing older and it seemed to happen quicker each time. Most of the time he _did_ leave them as they crept into the older ages. He would be lying to himself if he said he was happy to just be with Lily and watch her grow old and die.

As much as he dreaded all those times of watching the ones he loved age and die, just as much of him was too lonely to be on his own.

Cassidy spoke carefully, "Wot yer gettin' at right now..." He let out a short breath, "I wouldn't do that to 'er." He stated, staring at Jesse in the eye and speaking with pure certainty.

"What about with Tulip?" Jesse asked.

"That was different." Cassidy said with a bit of sharpness. He sighed, clearly torn, "I mean. The moment." His eyes fluttered as he remembered how panicked they all were, "I was jus actin' on impulse. It wasn't right see in' 'er die like that. N'all this voodoo, bringin' people back t'life bullocks that yer ol witch of a granny did is new t'me. I didn't know there were other ways, Jess. Jaysis." Cassidy swore.

"So," Jesse continued, "You'd do the same for my sister."

Cassidy turned his head to Jesse, "If the situation was the exact same..." Cassidy stopped on his words for a moment. Jesse had been open with him, so Cassidy felt Jesse deserved the same honesty from himself, "I think we both know the answer." Cassidy stated lowly. Jesse stared at Cassidy, nodding his head once slowly. Cassidy on the inside was torn. Every bit of him wanted to believe he'd never change Lily yet more of him knew if anything happened to her he wouldn't think twice to save her.

"I hate wot I am, Jess." Cassidy admitted, "Trust me when I say I'm gonna do everything to avoid havin' t'do the same to 'er. But I'm not about to sit 'ere and lie to yer face n'tell ye that if somethin' like wot happened to Tulip happened to Lily that I wouldn't do somethin'. It wouldn't be fer 'er. This life is pure Hell. Watching everyone you love die. Not bein' able to go out in the day like a normal person. Constantly strugglin' between whether ye should be enjoyin' the company of others or whether to sink yer teeth into them."

Jesse was lost for words. Eternal life and means to heal from nearly anything seemed like a bonus, but the short glimpse Cassidy had just given Jesse made him pity him for the first time. Cassidy shook his head, his face disgusted in himself, "You go on about how self absorbed yer sister is, hmph." Cassidy chuckled feebly, his mouth moving into a straight line quickly after, "The things I'd do fer my benefit.. hmph." He shook his head, "I'm the most selfish bastard out there."

Jesse sighed. Cassidy's words meant that regardless of the fact he hated what he was, there was a larger part of him that wouldn't let go of Lily easily. Jesse digested the information, realizing the probability of his sister becoming a vampire was a mystery that relied on just the way things ended up. Cassidy wouldn't go out of his way to just do it, but if he was pressured into it, his selfishness wouldn't let him resist - it hadn't for Tulip, so why would Lily be any different.

"Just curious if you two had made some sort of plan is all." Jesse explained his prying, his stomach twisting a bit, "You know. With us Custers being the dysfunctional secret keepers we are. I don't know anythin' that's going on between you two." Jesse was noticing his words slurring more and more. He wondered why, being that he wasn't a lightweight by any means.

Shaking his head, Cassidy grabbed the whiskey bottle again, "Like I said, definitely no plan on it." He assured.

Jesse nodded slowly, looking at Cassidy as he was nearly finishing off the bottle. "Ya know..." Jesse went on, his words were much slower than they were at the beginning of their talk, "I was a real asshole for a while there. I was entirely wrapped up in a giant heap of God damned bullshit, and I wasn't thinking right-" He lost where his train of thought was going as he shifted his weight and his head span a bit, "Shit." He grabbed his forehead, "Cass did you spike the bottle while I wasn't lookin? I'm hammered."

Moving the bottle from his mouth, Cassidy chuckled, "I wish." He sniffed, slapping Jesse on the back, "Since when are you such a bloody lightweight, like?"

Shaking his head, Jesse had a slow moment of realization, "Lily was asking me about wine." He stated. "Ya?" Cassidy said flatly, not knowing what that had to do with the whiskey they were drinking.

Jesse held out his hand, the one with the scar from the knife he'd used to draw blood from himself and his sister for their blood pact they'd made with their grandmother. "I'm pretty sure this thing connects me and Lil more than just to our grandmother's control." He looked up at Cassidy, "And I'm also pretty sure my sister is hammered right now."


	10. Lily's Lie

As the night was soon turning into morning, Cassidy laid in the bed in the Angelville house with Lily laying into his left side. He listened to Lily's calm breathing of deep sleep, looking down at her and wishing the circumstances were different and he could join her. He'd been wide wake for the past three days, and he'd drained nearly the last of the blood bags they'd packed ensuring he was in as good shape as he could be.

Sure, he'd indulged in what substances he'd had left, and he had his fair share of whiskey with Jesse just hours prior, but given the amount of blood he'd been consuming combined with his general tolerance to drugs and alcohol, it really didn't do anything for him. If anything it made his cravings worse. He sighed, wiping his face with his free hand, his other arm nearly dead it was so asleep underneath Lily, not that he would dare think to move. He moved his head from looking down at her to the window, hardly able to see out of the dirty and old glass.

Moving his head, he stared at the ceiling, thinking about the conversation Jesse and himself had earlier. He let his mind wander about it all, feeling much better about where things stood with Jesse now, and entirely grateful he didn't have to be climbing in and out of windows like a teenage boy to be with Lily.

Cassidy's mind suddenly remembered the last of their night - Jesse had been right. When they got inside she was plastered, visiting with Tulip and smoking like a chimney out the window of their bedroom. It blew Cassidy's mind - somehow Lily's alcohol consumption affected Jesse's state as well. Tulip hadn't been too phased about it, but she hadn't seen everything unfold the way that Cassidy had.

He wondered about their connection and how long it would last, and how the Hell did it even work? Quickly, he found himself losing track of his mind a little too much, groaning out loud and silencing his inner thoughts as he struggled to find somewhere else to imagine. Lily's warmth and deep slumber was getting more and more enticing - and soon, Cassidy didn't realize he'd closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

* * *

_Lily was in a deep sleep, her dreams were inconsistent and changed back and forth. Suddenly, in front of her she recognized the woman that was her mother, "Lillian." She grabbed Lily's shoulders sternly, her eyes were red and broken. Frozen in shock, Lily stared at her mother in her state of distress as she shook Lily by her shoulders, "You need to protect yourself." She begged._

_Still not able to respond, Lily's mouth hung open, shaking her head as she tried to understand._

_"Protect yourself, Lillian!" Her mother screamed as she repeated herself, "Protect yourself!" _

In a sudden shock, Lily woke with a sharp gasp as she shot upright in the bed. A startled Cassidy woke at her side, following suit as he launched himself upward, "Wot!?" He asked, entirely disoriented, "Wot's wrong!?" It felt like Lily had been underwater and just breached the service as she panted heavily to catch her breath. Cassidy grabbed her, "Jaysis, wot's goin' on!?" He asked in worry, "Yer heart's beatin' out yer bloody chest, love."

Trying to take slower breaths, Lily closed her eyes and pressed her hands on them, "Nothing." She assured, "Just a dream."

"Bad dream?" Cassidy asked.

Moving her hands from her eyes to her head, Lily ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at Cassidy right at her side. Shaking her head she sighed, "Yea." Cassidy nodded, "Hm." He hummed, leaning to her shoulder as he kissed her skin, "Alright." He sunk backwards into the bed comfortably, keeping a hand on her, "S'long as it wasn't one of those dreams yer known fer. Visions, like." He grumbled.

Lily stopped in her tracks. Had it been? She wondered. It had felt so clear and real. Cassidy put a curiosity in her head. Jesse had warned her Angelville was full of all sorts of unexplainable things. She'd seen a bit of it herself. She'd since her mother face to face once already, but when she woke Cassidy had asked if she was sleeping. Were they just dreams? Lily remembered when she first got into the house at Angelville she'd seen a figure on the stairs, but she couldn't be sure it was her mother. Was she just losing her mind or was there more to it? Cassidy must've noticed how quiet and still she'd been for so long as she sat upright in the bed. "You alright?" He asked.

Lily looked back to him, "I'm going to have a shower."

* * *

Spending as long as she could with the water pouring down on her, Lily couldn't seem to calm her brain down. She heard Cassidy walk into the bathroom, startling her a bit. "Ugh." She huffed, wiping the water off her face, "What a way to wake up." Lily stated aloud to Cassidy. She was a nervous wreck. She heard the door close again, finding it weird Cassidy had nothing to say back at her. Peaking her head out of the shower, she glanced around, expecting him around but he was nowhere to be seen. There was an unsettling feeling that took over, and she found herself too afraid to even close her eyes to wash her hair properly. Shaking her head, she sighed, "Pull yourself together." She huffed at herself.

When she got out of the shower, she took a few deep breaths. Hopefully some of Cassidy's playful banter would shift her mood.

As she got out of the bathroom, she wrapped a towel around her head and body, noticing in the corner of her eye that Cassidy was by the window in the corner of the room. Opening the wardrobe where all of her clothes were so nicely hung, she rifled through what she could wear for the day. "I can only imagine what we're going to have to do today. Yesterday with Jesse was a whole day of my life I will never get back. " Lily stated, her voice falling flat as she talked in towards her clothes, "Hmm.." She hummed, "You know..." Lily sang, filling her arms with articles of clothing, "This might be a record amount of time of me being in a towel without you pulling it off of me." She laughed softly, expecting a clever comeback from Cassidy. It was still quiet, "And this is _probably_ the smallest towel I've ever had on me." She noted, trying to entice him.

When it was _still_ silent, she felt the energy shift. She didn't have to entice Cassidy, what was she thinking? Her face went flat and with her arms full of clothes she stood upright and tried to listen for anything. She turned her head to where Cassidy was standing, the door of the wardrobe shielding her view. "Cass?" She asked, something in her gut telling her she wasn't going to get a response.

On the back of her neck, Lily felt the hair on her skin stand upright, she dropped the clothes in her arms as they hit the floor and she finally gained the courage to grab at the wardrobe door. Slowly, she closed it, seeing that the person standing in the corner wasn't Cassidy. It was her mother.

Her eyes locked onto Lily's. The same sense of stiffness took Lily over the same as it had in her dream. All at once she got lightheaded and felt a rush of shock shudder through her. She watched speechlessly as her mother stepped slowly towards the dresser, placing her hands softly on the top of it. Her mother looked drained. So tired and distressed, like she had been in her dream that woke her just hours before.

It felt like a lifetime of stillness, until abruptly, her mother threw the dresser down. Startled, Lily jumped backwards, her heart moving to her throat as her legs nearly gave out from under her. The dresser hit the ground with a loud crash that shook the fragile framing of the room. Lily panted heavily, unsure what to do, and beyond frightened to take any action.

In an instant, the bedroom door flew open. Lily's head snapped the way of the door, seeing Cassidy and Jesse as they rushed in, "What the Hell happened?!" Jesse asked, "Are you ok?" He stared from the dresser on the middle of the floor up to his sister.

It was clear when he looked at her that she was _not_ okay. She was backed up to the wall and she was entirely white. Lily's mouth was stuck open, unable to find the words to even begin explaining what just happened. She moved her eyes to the dresser on the floor, before her eyes caught the wall it had been covering. There was a wooden board in the wall that was crooked, seemingly out of place.

Suddenly the pieces were rapidly put together in her head. She hadn't been attracted to the dresser. There was something behind it - something her mother knew about.

"What's goin' on up there?!" TC's voice yelled from down the stairs as he began his trek upstairs. Instantly, Lily pushed from the wall, the towel wrapped around her nearly falling off as she ran for the dresser, trying desperately to pull it back up. Jesse and Cassidy, although confused, followed suit and followed her urgency. Cassidy effortlessly yanked the dresser back up on it's feet, Jesse closed the open drawers that had several things fall out of it. Lily was on all fours on the ground shoving all the loose belongings underneath the bed to hide them.

"Push it back!" Lily whispered, "Push it back!" She panicked, looking behind her to see if anyone was watching them yet.

By the time TC and Jody made it to the doorway of the bedroom, everything was back in place. Jesse and Cassidy stood on either side of the dresser as nonchalantly as possible and Lily found herself sitting on the bed with her back to the door.

"What in the Hell was that?" Jody's voice bellowed.

Jesse and Cassidy were both shocked to hear Lily speak up right away, "I fell down getting out of the shower." She lied, leaning down to her leg, "Hurt my ankle." She added.

Cassidy fluttered his eyes and shifted on spot quick before he moved to his knees in front of her, grabbing her ankle as if to be looking at it. His low eyes looked up to Lily's face, trying to understand himself what had happened. His eyes moved to TC and Jody standing at the door to see if they were buying Lily's lie.

"That was a heavy soundin' blow for someone your size." Jody tested.

Lily sighed, "Yea, I yanked a few things down with me trying to grab onto something." She lied again. Jesse's eyes moved from his sister to look at Jody and TC to see if they were buying Lily's lie.

Cassidy could feel her heart racing, making him wonder that much more what had actually gone on in the room while she was alone. Lily worried if TC and Jody caught onto her lying that they may find what her mother was trying to get her to find before she could do anything about it.

Jesse shifted his weight on spot, glancing at his sister in her towel as he stepped towards the doorway of the bedroom, "We'll let you get dressed," Jesse stated, eager to get Jody and TC away, "I'll find something for your ankle." As Jesse closed the door behind him, they could hear TC talking to Jesse, "Oh, you want somethin' for the swelling? Or, or the pain?" He asked in excitement, "I got somethin' for that little Jesse. Ha!" TC cackled, "Hell, I got somethin' for _everythang_! Let's go see what we got for lady Lil." Their voices trailed off as Jesse's efforts to get them away had worked.

Although, it was clear Jody had his suspicions.

Cassidy let go of Lily's ankle, staying low as he looked up at her, "Wot in the Hell happened in 'ere?" He whispered. Lily looked over her shoulder before she looked back to Cassidy. He shook his head with a smirk across his lips, "I leave you fer two minutes n'furniture is flyin' around."

When Lily didn't laugh back, he felt his heart sink. She glanced behind her briefly, wondering if her mother may be in another corner - but it was clear they were alone. Cassidy frowned, staring up at her. She had the same look on her face as she did after their first day in Angelville when she told him she wanted to leave this place. He shook his head, "Wot's goin' on?" He asked.

Lily sighed, her breath choppy as she felt a bit lightheaded as she got to her feet, Cassidy noticed her staring directly at the dresser again. She needed to see what was behind it. She placed her hands on the dresser, wanting to slide it away from he wall again, but decided against it - fearful to make more noise and cause more attraction. Her hands slipped off the dresser as she kept her eyes on it, "Can you pick this up carefully and move it without making any noise?" She asked. Confused and even more worried, Cassidy studied her for a moment, her eyes moving back up to him when she didn't get a response.

He nodded, grabbing it around his arms and lifting it as if it was a bag of feathers. Before he could put it down, Lily was already on her knees in front of the wall that was behind it. She moved the out of place piece of wood and pulled it out. With his brows furrowing Cassidy watched curiously, staring at the large hole that was behind the board Lily had just moved. She looked back at him and his eyes moved to hers.

"Remember how I thought there was something with this dresser?" She whispered. Cassidy nodded, "O'course. Y'made me rip the whole thing apart." Lily reached her hand into the wall, feeling around and Cassidy began to worry the further her arm went in. Eventually, she on her stomach and she was out of arm span, but her finger tips were just barely grazing something. She huffed in frustration, not able to tell if it was part of the wall or something worth reaching for.

"Here." Cassidy demanded, "Let me." He was relieved to see her arm come out of the opening. "This place gives me the creeps." Cassidy admitted, laying himself on the floor, "Last thing we need is yer arm ripped off. Least mine will grow back." He teased. Impatiently, Lily pushed at him to reach for what she had just tried to. He grunted, his fingers pulling at the item inside until eventually it was in his grasp.

Lily was surprised to see a book come out, she couldn't get it out of Cassidy's hand fast enough. He adjusted himself back up and sat beside her on the ground beside the hole in the wall. When Lily opened the book, her eyes couldn't read fast enough. "Wot issit?" Cassidy finally asked, "A diary or somethin'?"

Shaking her head, Lily read various hand written words, a couple in particular catching her eye but one word in particular, **PROTECTION. **There were many pages Lily flipped through that had all sorts of things crossed out, but the subject on the top of each page remained the same. **PROTECTION. **Lily's dream flooded back to her. The only thing her mother had said was to protect herself. She'd found what her mother had directed her to, but the words on the pages were all crossed out. Failed attempts it seemed. Beginning to worry about her more and more, Cassidy could hear her heart rate increasing more each second. Lily began flipping through pages faster. "Lily?" Cassidy asked. Finally, she stopped. A page that was circled many times. No words were crossed out. It looked like a recipe and it was clear it was the one that had worked after many failed attempts.

Cassidy studied her face, her eyes welling up as she felt completely overwhelmed. He grabbed her, "Lily, say somethin', _please_." He begged. She kept her eyes on the book, and she shook her head slowly. Lily's voice was so quiet it was hard for Cassidy to hear, "I was beginning to think I lost my mind." She said.

He knew that. She had seemed so completely out of tune the last several days, he was beginning to worry she was spiralling downward. Leaning closer, Cassidy waited for her to explain.

All of her dreams, the visions. It wasn't just instinct or good intuition. Lily looked up to Cassidy, and he was relieved to recognize her behind them again, "I think I finally understand what's going on with me."

* * *

Lily had gotten changed into clothes quickly and entertained TC as Jesse had come back and they gave her non-existent ankle injury the attention it supposedly needed. When the cost was clear, Lily was able to show Jesse the book. Both Jesse and Tulip were in the room now, listening as Lily explained in a low whisper what had happened. She'd explained everything what seemed to be ten times already, but she kept going on as no one said anything.

"What was that?" Lily asked, turning to the bedroom door that was closed. "Nothing." Cassidy assured, "I _told_ you already I'd hear somethin' comin' from down the bloody road fer Christ sakes." Lily took a deep breath and nodded, looking back at her brother and Tulip. All three of them stared at her, not saying a word the entire time she had explained. It was nice to see Tulip out of her spot in the bed, but Lily's mind was far too busy with everything else that was consuming it to appreciate the fact her best friend was back at her side looking as normal as ever.

Lily shrugged her shoulders, whispering a little louder, "This whole time, I constantly feel like there's someone watching me. I just avoided it. Ignored it any time it happened. But this time I found it in me to just..." She threw her arms up, "..look." She threw her hand towards the corner Jesse was standing close to, "And she was _there_."

When no one said anything, Lily sighed, "I'm _telling_ you. I've seen her a few times here now. I knew there was something with that fucking dresser. She came to me in my dream and warned me, and then when I _still_ couldn't take a fucking hint, she threw the mother fucking thing to the ground and practically shoved my face in it." She huffed in frustration, knowing how crazy she sounded, "I _know_ its sounds absolutely insane. I _know_ that-"

"No it doesn't." Jesse stated, finally cutting her off. Tulip and Cassidy looked up at Jesse, who was seemingly less shocked than they were. Jesse flipped through the book again, "This was mom trying to figure out how to survive here." Jesse stated, "There's a lot in here." He shook his head in amazement, "I can't say I'm surprised about this happening with you, Lil." Lily threw her head back, "Oh, please tell me you knew that I could see fucking dead people and kept that from me, too!" She whisper-yelled. Cassidy was thankful to see her spark back so suddenly. Jesse smirked, shaking his head as he was unable to hold back a chuckle at her playfulness, "No. Of course not." He took a breath, closing the book and handing it back to Lily, "Not like that. I just mean that there's lots of history with our family with this sort of stuff. Look at gran'ma."

Lily shook her head, "She can see people that are dead, too?" Lily asked. Shaking his head, Jesse looked at his sister, "No." He took a few steps, "She can't." There was a smirk on his lips that Lily found confusing. Jesse was beaming, knowing this fact would hit their gran'ma in the best way - not that their intentions were for her to find out, for the time being at least. Growing up with her around, Jesse knew the things she could and could not do - and the things she could not do, absolutely killed her inside.

"I know someone else who can, though." Jesse stated.


	11. Addict

_Guys, I'm gonna be real honest with you right now. I have so much planned AHEAD for this fic that is so exciting, but I am having a really hard time pushing through this part of this fic. I'm trying my best to stay true to what Angelville deserves but it is incredibly hard not to just rush through it. Please let me know if these chapters drag too much and I will try and cut what I can in future chapters, or if the pacing seems okay then I will continue to be as patient and descriptive as I can. I can't believe how many people are still following this story, it makes me excited to continue. Thank you._

* * *

Before they really had much of a chance to dip their toes into the newly discovered ocean of questions they had for everything that had just happened with Lily, Madame L'Angelle was quick to summon them to do their daily errands for her.

This day, Jesse went alone with Jody out in the truck doing all sorts of different tasks Madame L'Angelle had in store for them. Back at Angelville, Lily, Cassidy and Tulip were at TC's beckon and call. Lily was relieved to spend minimal time around their grandmother, as they spent most of the day out in a large shed moving things around for TC.

Inside the worn out building, it was hot and stuffy, and the stench was enough to nearly knock them all on their feet for the first while. Luckily, no one had passed out and they did the most they could in the hours of the excruciating long day. "This place has been a damn disaster for years!" TC yelled, "And I gotta say, it sure is nice havin' some helpin' hands to get this place back to the way it used to be." He grinned. Lily grabbed a large back Tulip passed her, raising her brows at TC, "Hmph," Lily grunted, her voice strained from moving all the heavy and dusty items, "Well, we didn't really have much of a choice, TC so don't be too thankful."

Tulip's eyes flashed to Cassidy, who grinned, each of them thankful to see a bit of the fire back in Lily. Unlike Jody, TC's demeanor was seemingly harmless. Sure, he was creepy as all hell, but at least it didn't look like he could break you in half in any given second.

TC threw a hand out at a box behind Cassidy, "Hey, wanna pass me that there thing. Be careful with it." He stated. Cassidy nodded, turning and grabbing the large wooden box, acting as if it was difficult for him to pick up.

Lily and Tulip couldn't refrain from chuckling at Cassidy's act. TC turned to them, "What?" He asked. Lily shook her head, a smirk on her face, "Nothing." TC shook his head back, "No, what are you laughin' about?" It almost seemed like he was self-conscious it had been about him. Shaking her head again Lily waved her hand, "Nothing. Just laughing at Cassidy."

"Is there somethin' I'm missing?" TC asked, a smile across his face. It didn't seem like he was suspicious - it seemed like he was eager to get in on a joke. Lily wondered if TC ever experienced something like a joke in this Hell hole. Lily tried to think of something to go off of other than the truth, but it seemed like Tulip was on the same wavelength as Lily was, as she spoke up first, "It's just funny you asked him to do that since Cassidy's the weakest of us all." Tulip stated.

Cassidy's brow scrunched defensively, "What!?" He whined, placing the box down, "Fine. Be my guest, then." He said. When Lily and Tulip cackled, TC joined them in a burst of laughter that startled all of them. It was unnatural sounding and a bit unnerving.

The three of them exchanged looks as TC keeled over laughing, finally standing upright and pointing a finger at Lily and Tulip with a wide grin, his eyes tearing up a bit, "That's funny, ah-ha ha ha... woo." He exhaled, "Lady Lil-" His eyes widened and he looked at Lily, stepping closer to her, "Can I call you that? Lady Lil?"

With a nervous smile across her face, Lily nodded, "Sure, TC." The three of them were stiff with awkwardness of the situation, second guessing their judgment on TC. Was he harmless? Or was he unpredictable? He was hard to read, but his smile was stuck on his face nonetheless.

TC continued as he stared at Lily, his smile fading just a tad, "I just think since I've known Jess since he was little, it feels wrong to call him anythin' but the little Jesse I knew him as.. but you-" He shook his head, his lips twitching a bit, "I mean, I never knew you before you weren't a grown lady. So it doesn't feel right to call you anythin' but the lady that you are."

Suddenly the creepiness set in a little heavier. TC looked like he never heard of oral hygiene and regardless of his warm smile at Lily, they all got the shivers from the sight of it. Nodding again, Lily pressed her lips into a crooked smile, "TC you can call me anything you want if it means I get a glass of water soon cause I feel like I'm about to pass out." Tulip was relieved to hear Lily come up with that request.

TC nodded back, "Of course!" He stuck a thumb up to point behind him, "I got some great consomme I made myself. Full of all sorts of vitamins and, and, things to make you feel better and all that!" He stuttered, eagerly trying to sell the idea of his concoction.

Shaking her head, Lily huffed, leaning against a large wooden ledge in front of her, "Just some water, TC."

None of them had talked about anything that had happened, fearful to anyone outside of the four of them to know. TC had gone inside and the three of them were in a shed, hot as hell as sweat dripped off all of them. With TC gone, Cassidy was able to stop pretending to have a hard time moving things around and throw it all around effortlessly.

"Calm down." Lily whispered to Cassidy. "Wot?" Cassidy asked, shrugging his shoulders as he heaved a few more large items, "He's gone." He stated shortly. Rolling her eyes, Tulip stuck a hip out, "What's the big deal, Lil?" Lily shot her glare to Tulip, widening her eyes and bobbing her head back and forth mockingly, "Oh yea, TC comes back after what, five fucking minutes, and the whole place is re-arranged? Like that's any less suspicious than doing it in front of his face."

Shaking her head, Tulip kicked at a box, "That creepy fuck is stupider than a sack of..." She threw her arms out, "Whatever's in this box."

With a frustrated huff, Lily stared back and forth between the two of them, "We can't be reckless." She stated. There was silence, and Cassidy stopped in his tracks and looked to Lily, his face flat and unimpressed.

Like a switch, Cassidy's face nearly went red as he started throwing everything back to the way it was at an alarming pace, "Fer fok sakes." Cassidy swore, notably irritated. Lily leaned back a bit, her brows low as she stared at him sternly, speaking in a whisper-yell, "We need to be careful, Cassidy!" She reiterated. Cassidy felt his head heated the way it was and quickly tried to level himself out, the two girls a bit taken aback by his sudden outburst of anger. He'd been doing so well at not impairing his judgement and state of mind with any alcohol or drugs in the last few days at Angelville, but he was an addict. It was getting to him, he couldn't deny that. The bottle of whiskey he'd indulged in the night before hardly did a dent in him considering the amount of blood he'd drank making sure he was in top shape. It just teased his addiction if anything - and he was paying for it today. His eyes moved to Lily and Tulip, standing in relative confusion as Lily stared at him sternly. Cassidy took a big, deep breath, lowering his tone entirely, "Jus' no sense in yew two girls working yer fuckin arse off, sweatin' any fat y'ave on ye away fer these gobshites." He groaned, trying to justify his sudden outburst.

"Hmph." Tulip chuckled in agreement with Cassidy, "Definitely didn't expect my first day on my feet since comin' back from the dead to be so boring. Heaving shit around in some old shack that smells worse than that time our fridge broke and we came home from a long weekend to the smell of all the rotten meat in the freezer." Tulip stated towards Lily.

"Oof." Lily stifled a gag, "I told Jesse not to open that fucking freezer." She stated. "Yeah.." Tulip sighed, "Yea, you did."

"I'm breathing through my mouth." Cassidy stated, still moving things back to their original place, "Can't tell if I'd rather smell it through my nose or taste it through my mouth in 'ere." Feeling a bit nauseated, Lily sighed, "I think I need some fresh air." She stated, opening the creaky door and moving outside.

It proved not to be much better. The sun was beaming down particularly hard today and their was a dampness in the air that made it impossible to get a fresh breath in at all. Lily's shoulders dropped in defeat as she quickly made her way back into the shed. Everything was back to the way it was before TC left, just in time for TC to come in shortly after.

When there were no glasses of water in his hands, the disappointment in the air was obvious. The glow TC had on his face before he left was gone, and instead his face was long and he even had a little bit of shame showing on him, "Uh, I-" He stuttered, "Miss Marie said you can get water from the hose outside." He stated.

Cassidy and Tulip couldn't say they were surprised, being that they knew how much of a hag the Custer's grandmother was, but Lily felt her insides heat up. Cassidy and Tulip could see the anger in her eyes and soon on her whole face, and fairly soon after TC noticed it, too. Every part of Lily wanted to storm into the house on the other side of the property and bust down her grandmothers door, hold her up by the throat and give her a piece of her mind for treating them so poorly.

There was a tensity in the air that was painful, and none of them weren't sure if Lily was about to make an unpredictable move. He shifted on spot carefully, "You... you wanna see where the hose is Lady Lil?" TC asked sweetly.

Snapping out of her furious state suddenly, Lily felt herself settle. She was able to press her lips into a straight smile for TC, "Sure." Lily followed TC out of the shed, taking a few deep breaths as she did. She was able to calm herself, but she took note how for the first time since she'd been in Angelville, instead of feeling fearful of approaching her grandmother, she had fantasized about confronting her.

* * *

Tulip and Lily were entirely depleted by the end of the day. Jesse hadn't arrived back with Jody yet, but the sun was nearly down and Lily found it in herself to shoot him a text to see where they were at. She placed her phone on the bathroom counter and hopped into a much needed shower.

Downstairs, Cassidy was trying his best to find anything salvageable enough to eat for the girls upstairs. From what seemed a mile away, Cassidy heard someone approaching. It didn't take him long to recognize TC's pattern of steps.

"You hungry?" TC asked. Cassidy stared helplessly into the fridge, closing the door with whatever he could find in his arms, "Yea." Cassidy lied, not paying TC much attention. Cassidy stared out the kitchen window as he peered into the never-ending darkness, his mind wandering for a moment. "You like backgammon?" TC asked from behind Cassidy. "No." Cassidy groaned shortly. "Hmm." TC huffed, sitting down at the table as he fiddled at something in his hands, "What about gummy bears? Ya like gummy bears?" He asked hopefully. With a short sigh, Cassidy kept his back to TC as he washed away at some old fruit in the sink, "No." He stated shortly again. TC hummed, a bit deflated, "Yea, I don't like 'em much either. Only eat the red ones." He chuckled softly to himself, "Sometimes the green ones, too." He added.

Unamused, Cassidy nodded to himself as he finished washing what bit of fruit he could find. "What about drugs?" TC asked. It was impossible not to notice Cassidy's clear interest. Smiling, TC could see the jolt of excitement go through Cassidy, though his back remained to TC. Slowly, Cassidy turned. His heart skipped a beat. It had been so long since he'd indulged. He'd been doing his best at staying as tip top shape as he could the last few days, but he'd be lying to himself if he wasn't itching for a fix.

"Wot'ya got?" Cassidy asked.

* * *

When Lily got out of the shower, Cassidy was waiting in the bedroom for her. She had a towel around her head and put some clothes on, finding herself quickly collapsing on the bed. She sighed, "I don't think I ever needed a shower so bad. I still smell the stench of that fucking shed on me." Lily's eye caught the plate of food Cassidy had brought up sitting on the bedside table and she was quick to reach over and snag a few grapes with a piece of bread off of it. The grapes were soggy and the bread nearly broke her tooth it was so stale, as she continued eating she realized she must be starving to keep going at it.

"Hmph." Cassidy chuckled at her side, dipping his head down to take a wiff of himself, "Quite likely that _stench_ yer talkin' about is me. Need a bloody shower myself. N'also, _that's_ not true. About ever needin' a shower so bad.." He said, "Pretty sure that time we jumped into that river back in New Orleans n'ended up in that swamp was better means fer a shower." He leaned to her, "D'ye remember that?" He asked as if it was a million years ago.

"Yea." She said struggling to swallow the dry bread in her mouth, "You're right." She remembered the layer of algae all over her and forest debris knotted in her hair. Letting out a soft hum, she laid at his side completely drained from energy and her voice showed it, "The shower drain got clogged from all the shit that washed off me." Lily let out a short huff, "That feels like years ago."

Cassidy nodded, "Yea," He agreed, "It does."

It was quiet for a moment other than Lily's chewing, "This bread is dry as Hell." Lily stated, when suddenly, she felt Cassidy's weight shifting against the bed. " 'ere. Somethin' to wash it down." He said. She turned her head towards him, opening her eyes to see a glass of blood laced water. "Oh." She groaned, "Right."

Sitting up reluctantly, she noticed how incredibly sore she was and she was wondering how much of it was from the labor of the day and how much it was from the reliance to his blood that she developed. She grabbed the glass and thought about all the things going on with her right now.

"I'm really fucked up." She stated in the midst of all of her thoughts, "Just when I thought my life is as fucked up as it can be - the list of fuckery that's attached to me grows some more." She brought the glass up to her mouth and began downing it quickly.

"Hmph." Cassidy laughed softly, "Kind of nice not being the center o'attention of un-human-like qualities." Removing the glass from her mouth, Lily smiled, wiping the corners of her mouth as it watered viscously. "Yeah." She stated simply, her body tingling with the euphoric feeling the effect Cassidy's blood had on her. Her senses were heightened immediately and that meant she could smell his natural scent tied to his blood that much more. Eagerly, she leaned towards him and kissed him, a soft moan escaping her unwillingly as she breathed in the beautiful scent that made her brain all foggy. It was so powerful - but it also meant the stench that clung to him from the shed they spent in all day was amplified as well.

"Ugh." She groaned, pulling away from their embrace, "You do reek." He jumped up from the bed, "Yea, I'll go take care o'that." He stated.

When Cassidy got out of the shower, Lily was still laying on the bed, a towel on her head as her eyes were closed. He could tell by her breathing pattern she wasn't asleep yet so he wasn't too cautious about noise as he crawled into the bed and got comfortable. Lily's phone vibrated at the bedside table nearest to Cassidy.

With her eyes still closed, Lily asked him, "Is that Jess? I texted him earlier."

Grabbing her phone, Cassidy opened it up and saw Jesse had responded, "He's almost back." Cassidy stated. "Hm." Lily hummed, "Good." Cassidy scrunched his brow, "I 'eard that unit o'va man Jody get back 'ere a while ago."

"What?" Lily asked, "Really?" Cassidy nodded, "Yea." He said, placing the phone back down. That meant Jesse had been out on his own? Lily wondered what that meant. Where was he and how was he able to get away from Jody?

Before Lily could think too much on it Cassidy spoke and tore her mind away from the questions going on inside of her.

"Last night. Jess n'I talked." He stated.

"Oh," Lily sighed, her face scrunching as she opened her eyes and looked at him with a sorry face, "I know, I drank myself into oblivion trying not to think about how that was going and got so drunk I wasn't even able to talk to you about that."

Turning more toward him she sighed, feeling bad about neglecting to even ask Cassidy about it, "Judging by the fact you two are still in one piece I figured it went alright." Lily reached an arm around to place it over him. Cassidy's hair was drenched and it looked like he hadn't bothered to dry off. His upper body that was exposed was still wet as Lily laid her arm over it.

Cassidy shook his head to her, trying to convey that wasn't what he wanted to go on about, "That's not it. He 'ad a bottle of whiskey wit 'im. N'he had a few good glugs but nothin' to get him, like. He's no lightweight but he was plastered in no time." Cassidy stated, "Then Jesse said somethin' about it bein' likely _you_ were the one that was drunk n'he was jus' feelin' the effects of it."

Lily looked up at him, her brow lowered in confusion. Cassidy's eyes fluttered a bit as he struggled to explain, "I think it's somethin' to do with this." He grabbed the hand of the arm that was over him and showed her the nearly black scar across her palm.

"I mean of all the cuts n'bruises n'all sorts of shite that's 'appened to ye since we met, whenever you drink my blood they all go away miraculously. But _this_-" He squeezed her wrist as he held onto her hand, "Why hasn't this healed at all?" He asked.

Lily stared at the scar on her palm, shaking her head, "I don't know." She said, not knowing what else to say.

He immediately noticed the overwhelming look in her face, and backtracked a bit, "I know everythin' wit you seein' yer mother n'all that happened right away this mornin' so he didn't 'ave time to talk to ye yet about it, but, jus thought I would mention it."

She nodded, thinking about her statement just minutes before about how she had a list of things about her building up more and more, and now this. "But other than that-" Cassidy continued, eager to change the topic for her metal being, "Everythin' with Jess is fine." Resting herself down a bit, Lily nodded, her eyes moving as she thought for a moment, "That's good, Cass." She said. Soon, they were both as comfortable as they could be in the unwelcoming, cold house. Cassidy could hear Lily slowly slipping into a slumber, but each time she almost fell asleep, she would toss another way.

Cassidy was wide awake - mostly to keep alert as he'd done the last few nights, and also a good amount of his energy coming from the buzz of whatever substance it was that TC had hooked him up with earlier. It had been some homemade concoction of TC's and Cassidy was never one to turn down a mystery drug. Maybe it was his high, but he was feeling a bit more curious, "Did y'say anythin' t'yer ma?"

Sleepily, Lily turned toward him, "What?" Her groggy voice asked. Cassidy's eyes fluttered as his mind race, "I'm jus' layin' 'ere thinking about wot I'd do if I was in yer position. I suppose I'd 'ave a whole lot to say to me own mom." He stated thoughtfully.

Shocked at the sensitive subject matter, Lily slowly turned towards him completely, still laying down as he sat half up still, "No." She said shortly. When Cassidy didn't respond, Lily continued, "It's stupid right? I have about a million things to say and twice as many questions than that..." Lily yawned, her mentality drained and her body tired, but her mind was racing, "But I can't seem to get a word out of my mouth these last few times." With a huff she closed her eyes, "Stupid." She repeated.

Cassidy shook his head, the inside of it spinning a bit as he noticed the high changing at an alarming pace, "S'not stupid." He stated, "Can't say I'd be willing to do that, myself." He thought of the opportunity to talk to his own mother, "Don't blame you fer bein' weary of it." She sighed, her eyes feeling heavier by the second, "I need to do it. I need to ask her for help. I don't think I have a choice, if it means we stand a chance of making it out of here."


	12. Darkness

_Once again Lily was in a deep slumber and another dream was coming to her. It had hardly begun, but one thing was for sure - it was dark. The ominousness in the air was thick. Lily was expecting her mother to come to approach her and even though in her awakened state she felt ready to approach her, she __suddenly felt the tight throat feeling she had every time her mother appeared. Desperately, she tried to gain the courage before she showed up, but nothing was coming to her. _

_Eventually, she saw the shape of a person. Certain it was her mother again, Lily gathered everything in her and she felt ready to finally put out some words. Suddenly, the energy changed completely and the shape of the person __dissipated__ in front of her very eyes. _

_"No!" She yelled into the __never-ending__ distance, the muggy and somewhat suffocating darkness caving in around her, "Come back!" She demanded. Her courage was surprising her - the fact she was able to finally have a voice towards her dead mother that had kept showing up to her. The courage quickly turned to confusion as the tone of the environment and the feeling inside her changed drastically. The nervous pit in her stomach vanished, and suddenly insides were hot and she felt her heart fluttering. Yet the dark ominous feeling still stuck around her._

_Lily was startled when she felt something behind her. Turning quickly, she was shocked to see a figure. Before she could realize what was going on, there were hands around her and immediately she felt her body get burning hot. The figure embracing her so heatidly didn't say anything, but in an instant, Lily was wrapped and entwined with it and suddenly it felt all too familiar. By instinct, she pressed her mouth against the mysterious figure harder than ever. It was in an instant she realized it was Cassidy - or maybe her mind just made it that way. Either way, she wasn't complaining. _

_That darkness still lingering around her... _

_Finding its' way closer and closer..._

_She ignored it - easily._

_Things were moving so fast, Lily felt like she may be a few seconds behind him - she noticed his mouth was not on hers any more, as he began kissing her cheek, his mouth trailing downward from her neck to her collarbone. She was unable to refrain from moaning with excitement. It had been a while since Lily had been laid and even though this was a dream, it was one of the most exciting and self-satisfying experiences she'd had in a long time. It was so clear and felt so real, it was hard to believe it wasn't reality. _

_That eerie darkness.. growing closer... _

_It was easy for her to ignore it with the pleasurable distraction happening, but it was also enticing. Her mind wavered on embracing it for only a moment before it was decided. Grabbing onto the back of Cassidy's head she pulled him back to get a look into his eyes. They were unfamiliar - not the Cassidy she recognized. His usual fogged over hazy eyes were instead a piercing red. His teeth were barred and suddenly the darkness that had just surrounded her had found itself a place inside of Cassidy, it seemed._

_She should've been scared, in a hurry to get away, but instead the fire in her burned hotter and her mouth watered. Losing all control of herself, she felt as if she was watching the ordeal in third person. A small breath of anticipation escaped her mouth, her eyes filled with desire as they burned into Cassidy's before dropping to his jagged teeth displayed out in what should have been an intimidating sight to her. They each held still, and before she knew it within a split second, his teeth were sunken into her and he had her pinned to the ground._

_Lily should have screamed for fear of her life, but instead she moaned in intense pleasure, feeling practically the intensity of an orgasm. Under her chin, he began ripping her neck apart, and she could feel the blood gushing out of her as if it was actually happening. The fire burning inside of her slowly depleting as the life was literally drained from her, each second his grip around her getting tighter and tighter._

_Her vision, though blurry, was able to bring out the sight of him pulling back from her, looking down to bask in satisfaction at the last of her life slip away. Instead, she laughed feebly, looking up at him with the blood pouring down from his mouth and strings of skin stuck between his teeth._

_In that moment, it seemed the darkness that consumed this dream-Cassidy diminished slightly._

_It looked like she threw him for a loop - he hadn't been expecting **that** reaction. The look on his face was confused and she clawed up feebly at him, "Keep going." She choked out, feeling close to a climax even though he was nowhere near her pleasure spots and was instead ripping her to pieces, "Oh," She moaned, "It feels **so** good, keep going." _

_Releasing his harsh grasp from around her, he stood up and began backing away slowly and suddenly it became obvious that whatever the darkness was that consumed Lily's dream - it wasn't working against her as intended._

_..._

In an alarming jolt, Lily sprung up from the bed, her breathing almost rapid. Cassidy had already been awake, waiting for her to wake up as he placed an arm around her and comforting her, "Shh, it's okay, it's okay, yer awake now." He assured, "Yer awake."

Still trying to catch her breath and compile her thoughts, Lily stared at him, entirely shocked with herself. What the hell was that? Why'd her mind twist that encounter in such a dementedly awful way?

Cassidy's voice pulled her out of her shameful train of thought briefly, "Don't tell me ye saw er?" He asked both in a curious and intrigued manner, "Yer ma?"

Lily shook her head slowly, her mouth dry as she struggled to get the images of what she had just dreamed out of her head, "No." The idea of Cassidy knowing what she had just dreamt was mortifying. Taking her hands she closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair and dropped her head, struggling to suppress the need to scream in embarrassment.

With a sigh, Cassidy shifted his weight to better face her, "I could 'ear yer heart racin', but I didn't want t'interrupt anythin', like." He justified. Taking a quick breath in, Lily raised her head, unable to look at Cassidy in the eye, but sensing his uneasiness, "It's fine." She reassured him, "It's fine. It was nothing."

Cassidy didn't seem satisfied with that answer, his mouth went crooked and he let out a groan, "Hm."

Raising her brow and finally looking at him, she raised her brow, "What?" She asked a bit defensively.

Shaking his head and straightening up a bit, he struggled to find his words for a brief moment, "I woke up cause I felt somethin' wrong wit ye - yer heart was pounding and yer breathing started t'get..." He thought about a way to explain it, "-well.." He dragged.

Lily shook her head impatiently, "It wasn't anything, Cassidy." Her tone was a bit _too_ defensive, making it fairly obvious she was hiding something. With another grunt, Cassidy sighed, "It didn't sound like nothin', that's'all I'm sayin'." He groaned with obvious doubt.

Shaking her head again, Lily scoffed softly, "I don't remember what was happening." She lied.

Too curious, and maybe a bit too eager to call her on her bullshit to find out what she was hiding, Cassidy prodded, "Well ye were moanin' like crazy." Lily had to force herself to hold the immediate defence she had for herself - her mouth hung open and the words almost had come out on their own. Then, she took a moment and realized why Cassidy was pretty much cornering her to tell him what she'd dreamt about.

The realization hit her - he'd heard her moaning he said. So that was it. Maybe telling him she had a sex dream would shut him up. She didn't dare tell him the truth - but maybe she could get him off of her back and she could finally just forget about everything that had just happened without him nagging about it.

Reaching for her phone at her side, she checked the time - it was the middle of the night, nearly three in the morning. With a soft groan, she felt his eyes still burning into the back of her head as she placed her phone back down and finally found it in her to bring her eyes to his - it was dark, but she could make them out, and she was thankful that they weren't the eyes she saw in her dream, "I-" She started quietly, "..was probably moaning because..." She took a breath in as he instinctively leaned in closer to her, his brows raised as he waited for the words he had been waiting for, "I do _vaguely_remember-" She lied again, nothing vague about the clear as day images burning in her mind, "-I guess.." As her painfully slow words came out, her brow furrowed a bit, trying her best to try to seem like she was trying to gather her memory when really she was trying to be careful at how much she let come out of her mouth. Cassidy watched, practically holding his breath as he waited for her to spit it out, as she finally let one shoulder shrug, "I guess it was sort of like a sex dream." She finally admitted.

Cassidy nodded, his mouth twitching a bit in satisfaction as she finally told him the truth - well, not anything near the _entire_ truth, but Cassidy didn't know that.

"Hm." He hummed, a flutter in his stomach. He found it so endearing how bashful she'd been about telling him. It had been such a tense several minutes for Cassidy, the way Lily had been squirming in her skin as she was asleep made him worry for her. At first he thought it was fear, the way her heart had been racing, but soon she'd began moaning - softly, at first. Cassidy had been confused at first, but still worrisome for what she had been going through. But soon, the soft moans turned into the distinct ones he recognized were _not _fearsome. It was blatant to him that she had been enjoying herself - maybe a little too much.

Considering the last couple weeks had revolved around Tulip dying, terrifying revelations of the Custer's family history (_and_ present), and the fact they were all practically held hostage in Angelville against their will - it hadn't exactly been the ideal environment for a person's libido to thrive.

But suddenly in this moment, it was very obvious how tense they both were, it had been a long time since either of them had experienced any form of pleasure.

Cassidy took a quick breath in, his mouth suddenly watering, "About me, I'd hope." He teased. Lily immediately let out a soft chuckle from her nose, practically feeling her heart in her throat, "Yea." She admitted simply, trying not to show on her face all the details she was trying to hide.

Lily suddenly noticed just how heated she still was, the initial reaction from waking up had been embarrassment and shame, but now she was much more relaxed and realizing how warm and fuzzy she was feeling inside as she stared at Cassidy nearly naked at her side.

With his mouth forming a crooked frown, Cassidy titled his head slightly, "Well, y'don't seem like ye were too impressed, like." He groaned a bit miserably, hoping to hear some reassurance that would lead to the end of the tension between them and begin some pleasure for the first time in what felt like forever.

Still finding it incredibly difficult to hold eye contact with him, she did her best to not waver or crumple up into a ball of shame - afraid for him to _ever _know how truly twisted her sex dream had been. Soon she tried to focus on the present moment. This wasn't the corrupt Cassidy she'd dreamt of - his eyes proved that. Once again, her mind was settled again, the small bit of space between them burning like fire.

He glared a bit deeper into her when he didn't get a response, jabbing a bit deeper to entice some dirty reciprocation, "Which is odd, really, since it sure _sounded_ like y'were a few minutes ago." His tone of voice was challenging. Pressing her lips in a straight line, she raised her brows, before taking a quick breath in, "Well, it _was_ you... but it wasn't you." It was like the words were coming out on their own, feeling as she'd been a bit _too_ truthful. The ping of shame and embarrassment hit her again as she remembered how demented her mind had been towards Cassidy's character. Cassidy was waiting for a more assertive statement from Lily, but he could hardly handle it any longer, he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her into a hard kiss - causing the mortifying feeling that consumed Lily once again to melt away in an instant.

They'd kissed many times the last several days, but this one was with very different intentions. Lily could feel her insides heat up and her skin tingle in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time in anticipation of where things between them were leading. Her body felt numb and she hardly realized she was just sitting there until she finally found it in her to lift her heavy arms and wrap them around him.

Part of her wondered if the darkness she saw in the dream lingered in reality - but she realized almost immediately that wasn't the case. There was too much warmth. With his lips and arms tight around her, Cassidy felt the buzzing of excitement inside of him as well, but he was still hoping for some more from her before things really started. He pulled away, their lips still nearly touching. His voice soft, but his tone was testing, "Well was I good or was I bad?" He asked, referring to the dream again. Lily knew his intentions with that question. By now she new there was always some kind of build up before they had sex - Cassidy enjoyed getting a raise out of her before she got what she wanted - that had _always_been the case. Usually Lily didn't have the patience to play tough for long, giving into his ploy not long after it started. But right now, she was too scared to speak. What if somehow something she said gave him an idea of what Lily had dreamt of?

Cassidy's mind wandered as he noticed the difference in her. This whole thing between the two of them had stemmed from the beginning - a classic back and forth banter that led to what they both wanted - though at the beginning Lily never admitted it, which is what made it so sweet.

At first, it had driven Cassidy crazy how in denial Lily was, claiming that there was nothing between them when they both knew damn well there was. He remembered one instance, pinning her against the fridge back in the church in Annville, Jesse leading a mass on the other side of the wall as Cassidy held Lily in a rightful place in a heated moment, barely kissing her, just to drive her crazy enough to claw at him and demand he hurry along. The sense of satisfaction he got when she _finally _admitted in all of the self-righteous denial she stood upon that she needed it as much as he did.

That had just become the norm, and they both enjoyed it. Cassidy wondered to himself.. Why did it feel different in this moment? Was it because it had been so long since they'd been affectionate? Was it because now she was no longer in denial of her desire for him that she couldn't entertain the banter? There was something off beat, and it was Lily.

Cassidy was relieved when he noticed Lily take a breath in, pulling his mind from the spiral it was tangled up in. Lily hardly thought of her response, her voice rasping it out gently, "Bad." She stated, "You were _v__ery_ bad." At the same time, she felt her mouth begin to water in anticipation. Closing the small space between them, Lily kissed him again - harder this time, but Cassidy pulled away again. There was a playful spark in his eyes, and he wondered if the tables had turned and _she_ was trying to get more of a raise out of _him - _Cassidy knew it had just been a dream, but if she was serious and he _was_ bad? For whatever reason it hurt his ego. Was she being honest? He wondered. She _sounded_ honest. It was hard to read the tone she'd just said that sentence in.

Pulling back a little further to better see her face, he studied her for a moment. A chill of fear went through her, her heart dropping as she almost expected him to suddenly know what she saw. Cassidy read her face and realized judging by the way her heart was pounding and her eyes were burning with anticipation, maybe it was a different _kind_ of bad... She relaxed slightly when she saw his smirk. Cassidy letting out a quiet laugh as he kissed down her cheek to her ear, trailing down her neck - a trick he knew always made her give in and tell him what he wanted to hear, "I can't tell if y'mean that in a good way or not." His words were muffled against her skin and she felt like bursting into hysterics at how good it felt to be in this moment with him - but she kept her mouth shut, afraid what might come out.

Her mind raced back to the dream, his mouth tearing her throat apart, _Keep going! _She had demanded, _It feels so good!_

A shiver went through her - Cassidy felt it, passing it off as a wave of pleasure - which was half true, but the other part of the truth was as the nasty images of her getting off to him tearing her apart flashed in her mind again, the wave of embarrassment consumed her yet again.

Cassidy finally felt like he was close to cracking her - he waited for her words to challenge him to hurry up, to finally hear her groan, to beg him, plead at him - _anything_. He just wanted to tear her clothes off and finally give it to her. Usually Cassidy had to deal with a good amount of self control himself, but Lily was always the one to crack, though right now, Cassidy wasn't sure if he could stay pieced together much longer.

When she stayed still, nearly holding her breath, not giving him any sort of idea, he felt himself nearly burst out of his skin in impatience. He pulled back in a quick motion to look at her again, and she felt his annoyance, a slight growl escaping from him and she could swear he was glaring - a glimpse of the Cassidy she'd seen in her dream in his eyes, or was she imagining that? She felt a pit begin to form in her stomach.

Lily felt lightheaded suddenly, staring at him as he sat there motionless.

The groan he'd let out startled her, "Just tell me-" He hissed between clenched teeth, "Do I need t'redeem myself-" He asked, referring to the supposed 'very bad' performance he'd delivered to her in the dream, "Or do I need to live up to some sort of expectation, like?" He asked the loaded question with patience running thin. Whatever her answer was, it would be good enough to jump to it.

With her mouth dry, Lily didn't answer. She was afraid what more of the truth she was unwillingly spill, her heart pittering faster than usual.

Cassidy felt himself crack, his voice was harsh and it reminded Lily of the version of Cassidy in her dream, although this was reality and instead of being attracted in the sick way she had in the dream, Lily became scared for her life. "_Lily." _He growled impatiently, squeezing his grip on her harder, "_Tell me." _He demanded through barred teeth.

In his tight grasp, Lily's eyes were glued to his teeth and she felt as if her heart might stop. The flashes of the dream felt like reality again, and it was hard to tell the difference suddenly between the dream-Cassidy and reality-Cassidy. She lost her breath, her heart dropping as she struggled to balance herself again.

Cassidy had noticed the drastic shift in her energy right away, immediately releasing his grasp around her and shedding away whatever demeanor he'd put on for their usual sexual banter. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she struggled to erase the horror that was replaying over and over in her mind.

"Wot? Wot's amatter?" He asked softly, his tone of voice and energy entirely familiar again to her, but she was too scared to look. He backed away a little further, giving her some space as he worried if he took things too far. His hands were still on her, barely touching her skin. With his heart dropping a bit more at the sight of how disturbed she looked, he began to panic, "L-Lily." He stuttered in worry, "Wot's goin' on?" Leaning his head a little further down, he could see her eyes still squeezed shut and he could feel and hear her heart racing even faster.

"Lily, _please_, talk to me." Cassidy begged, feeling helpless as he wasn't sure what was even happening. The sting of guilt inside of him hurt Cassidy. He'd had a lot of experience in his time, and something he knew from that experience was when he scared someone - and Lily looked petrified. His mind was racing about every word and move he'd just made leading up to this moment, trying to figure out where he went wrong exactly, his brain scrambling to try and find a way to fix what damage was done.

Having lost control for a brief moment, Lily finally had her head back on straight. The terrible flashes of the dream had stopped and she could tell by the energy around her and Cassidy reassuring her that she was safe again. Letting out a heavy sigh, her chest was tight but she was able to open her eyes and sit upright. When she looked at Cassidy in front of her she felt so awful, he was even paler than he usually was.

She could see his chest skip up a few times as he took a choppy breath in, "Lily, I'm so sorry." His voice was strained, and Lily felt awful about how terrible he felt, "I thought we were jus' playin' around like we always do. I'm sorry." He said again, regret and shame surging through him.

Feeling sick to her stomach at how backwards it was that Cassidy felt guilty, Lily shook her head, taking a breath in and knowing she had to take accountability for everything that just happened, "Cassidy it wasn't anything you did." Lily assured him. With his heart feeling like it was stuck in his throat, Cassidy swallowed. A wave of relief should have consumed him, but not yet, he waited to find out what had just gone wrong. Lily's face said it all - there was more to know.

"Cass." She sighed. He looked so eager to hear from her, intently staring at her and his heart in his throat. Blinking a few times before she spoke again, the words flew out of her mouth easier than anticipated, "You killed me in my dream."

Unwillingly, Cassidy twitched. Feeling the sudden urge to throw up. Instead, he was able to find the courage to speak - his words were careful and slow, each one sounding like it's own sentence, "Lily." His stare was as serious as ever, "I would _never-" _"I know." She interrupted quickly, "That's not it." His brow twitched a bit and his mouth was twisted in a sickened way. If that wasn't the reason she was acting so off beat, what was it? He wondered, what could possibly be worse than _that_? The idea was burned into his mind. With his throat tight, and his stomach twisted, he kept his mouth shut and listened to her.

"There was this... _thing_ in the dream... From the very beginning." She stopped for a moment, realizing how much easier it was just to be honest and talk about what had happened out loud, but harder in the sense that she had to piece it all together into words, "It was like a presence, not like a person but an obvious _feeling_." There was a break as she tried to find the terms and proper description to express what she had felt, "An energy. It was dark." Cassidy's eyes burned into hers, listening to each word intently as he struggled to understand. Lily continued, "Then, there was someone else there, first. I couldn't see who." The more she remembered it and talked it out, the more she was understanding herself, "Then the thing... the energy... the... the..." Her mouth shut into a straight light, as her face scrunched, trying to find a way to decribe it, "The.. _darkness_ got thicker. It surrounded me suddenly, like it wasn't behind my back anymore it was _everywhere_. The feeling changed. Then another person appeared. I didn't know who it was, I didn't know it was _you_. I think I just made it out to be you after so long." She admitted to herself, mostly, but Cassidy listened all the more intrigued, "Then, at first I thought the darkness went from around me _into_ you." She stopped for several seconds, recollecting everything that happened. Suddenly, she wasn't ashamed or embarrassed anymore, for some reason she was simply coming to terms what had happened, "But I think it went in _me_."

Shaking his head slightly, Cassidy didn't understand, "I killed _you-" _His stomach twisted in a tighter knot, "n'yer sayin' you think that... darkness, as you call it, right?...Yer sayin' it went into _you_?" He stated doubtfully more than asked as a question. By the sounds of it, to Cassidy at least, it sounded like he was the dark part of that nightmare.

Had Lily's dream just warned her how full of darkness he was? His heart dropped, but why had she been moaning the way she had been - the sounds she had been making didn't make it out to be in fear or struggle. Lily shook her head back at him, answering his question as if she could read his mind, "Because I _told_ you to do it." She explained, "I-I _begged_ you to do it." She explained quickly, "You were ripping apart at me, it felt so real, I mean I could **feel** the life being drained from me-" The urge to vomit became more apparent when his mouth began watering, he couldn't possibly know what Lily had seen herself exactly, but Cassidy had had his fair share of fucked up fantasies of tearing her apart, but he'd never imagined her begging for him to sink his teeth into her the same way she begged him for sex. As his mouth watered more at the thought, he cleared his throat, her heartbeat pulsing extra loud for him now. It had been a long time since he'd felt this battle inside of him, but Lily seemed to find a way to bring it out quickly.

He didn't want to tell her to stop talking about it, because he was thankful she was being as open as she was and she needed someone to talk to, and that someone to talk to _should_ be him - ideally - but also he was afraid he'd lead her on to exactly how much he was struggling with the circumstances now in his mind.

Lily's voice pulled him out of his internal struggle slightly, "I think there's something really wrong with me, Cass." He glanced up at her, his teeth suddenly feeling much more promenant inside his mouth the more it watered. He was careful to keep his mouth shut in a flat line as he simply stared at her, afraid if he said anything that salvia may spill out of his mouth. He was sick with himself as much as he was tempted - his heart brawling with natural instinct ingrained in him.

He suppressed as much as he could, until she reached out and wrapped her hand around his arm, a motion that should've been endearing, but her pulse was now connected to him. Her words were muffled by the sound of her heartbeat banging into his mind, "I-.." Lily started again, choking on the words for a moment before she finally found the courage to spit them out, "The more you came at me, the better it felt." She confessed, "That's why I think the darkness was in _me_, not you. It _felt_ like we were having sex, but you were just tearing me apart. I **enjoyed** it." Her words burned into Cassidy, bringing up all sorts of bothersome emotions inside of him. He remembered her moaning, but he would not have imagined in a million years it was because of _that_. Cassidy felt his limits hit near a dangerous end zone. He was quick to get up from the bed, "Be right back." He grumbled quickly, barely opening his mouth as he spoke. Lily watched him walk towards the washroom.

After several minutes, Cassidy had gained control again. Lots of deep breathing and change of mind helped. Though the only thing between him and the scent of Lily and the sound of her heartbeat was a thin wall, it sure made it hard but finally he was able to gather himself.

When he walked back to the bed she sat unmoved, her eyes looked up at him as he found his way back into his spot, and he worried if she'd bring it up again that he might just snap harshly.

"Are you scared?" She asked softly. She knew _she_ was. So much had happened in the last week or so and there was more unknown than ever before.

Cassidy stared at her in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes and let out a gentle laugh in bewilderment, "I've told ye before how hard it is fer me-" His words stopped suddenly, he held his breath and he let out a disheartening groan from behind his hands that dragged down his face. He didn't have to finish that sentence, it went without being said. Of course she knew, he'd told her how much he'd struggled with her blood, with her life, with the temptation of killing her.

Finally, he moved his hands off his face and let them fall in a defeated thump to his side as he looked back up to her, "Yer askin' me if _I'm_ scared." He stated flatly.

Lily seemed to ignore Cassidy's remark, "I don't know what that was." She sighed, and it felt like a weight was lifted off of her in a sense, but she was terrified of herself all the same. Dreams had held a different meaning to Lily and it was hard to tell what would become of something and what was just an average nightmare.

He swallowed, "Scared it meant somethin', like?" Cassidy wondered, worried she may have figured it to be one of her premonitions. She shook her head, "No. This was not like that." She assured him, and Cassidy had to admit he felt some relief that Lily didn't believe that was the case.

Looking at her shaking her head, Cassidy's heart dropped again at the broken look on her face, "Scared of myself." Lily's eyes were thoughtful, "I don't recognize myself anymore." She admitted. He saw her eyes get red and he could tell she was holding back tears. He recognized her energy too well - she'd been almost the same right after they had arrived in Angelville, when Tulip was still dead. Cassidy and Jesse had gone out to run errands to get the things needed to help revive Tulip, but when they'd gotten back, Cassidy found Lily passed out in the room Tulip's body had been laying in. Soon they'd gone outside for some fresh air and he practically had to chase Lily down the seemingly never-ending gravel driveway into Angelville. When he'd caught up to her there was terror in her eyes, and she pleaded him to leave Angelville. His heart broke remembering how much relief he had felt when the two of them were speeding as fast as they could away from the Hell that was Angelville, but soon, Lily had begun to choke...

This, the way Lily was talking and staring at him in this moment, reminded him of the spiral she had just days ago. The days here had been heavy, Cassidy knew that Lily was going through a lot to process, and he didn't doubt there were things going on with herself that of course she didn't understand. Angelville was sucking the life out of her... maybe her dream had been a metaphor for that, Cassidy wondered.

Instinctively, Cassidy was quick to try and stop the tears before they came, leaning towards her and wrapping his arms around her into a tight hug. By habit, her head was tucked into him, and she listened to the sound of his voice hum from his chest, "I know it's been a rough while." He reassured softly, "N'yev gone through all sorts of shite that I can't begin t'undertand.." With a heavy breath in Cassidy kept her tight in his arms, "But it's not yer fault y'get bloody-" He stopped briefly, realizing bloody may not be the best term, "_fuckin_'" he corrrected, "stressed out from a night terror to confuse t'one of yer visions or wotever the hell it is ye sometimes go through."

He didn't have a great way with words, but his heart was fully committed to it, and that's what mattered most.

Sniffling slightly, Lily shifted her weight as he pulled back to better look at her, "Thanks, Cass." She whispered, "I had to get it out." She shook her head, knowing he'd stepped away moments ago because it had been too much for him, and he'd been very clear to her how important it was not to bring that out in him and she'd done just that with zero regard. He could see the tinge of guilt on her face, "Hey." Cassidy said, squeezing her arms as he dipped his head low to be eye to eye with her, "I've been through n'seen more fucked up shite than you _ever_ will, alright?" He stated, "Y'can talk t'me about _anythin_'." He said truthfully. It had been awful to hear the words come out of her mouth - and the emotions that it brewed from them were even worse, but in the end, no matter how terrible it had been for him - he was glad she'd been honest.

There was a slight shift between them, in a good way. Relief. Lily's eyes welled up a bit more as she looked at him and her mouth twitched as she fought the tears, feeling so uncertain about so many things but one thing was for sure - his eyes were familiar and she knew this wasn't anything like the nightmare she just had.

"Cass." She'd said his name in a tone that made him melt, her voice a bit shaky but a distinct element to it. His eyes flickered, but he was too scared to move - unsure if he'd picked it up right.

He realized he'd picked it up perfectly when she kissed him, quick to throw herself overtop of him. As her shirt and loose pajama shorts came off, their lips stayed attached, their breathing getting heavier by the second as the both of them could hardly handle the wait any longer.

Soon, she was underneath him and everything that mattered moments ago had vanished completely. Still, in the back of her mind, Lily wondered how insane she was to be tangling herself into such a vulnerable position with Cassidy - who'd just moments ago needed to step away to suffocate the urge to kill her.

"_Very bad_." Her words rang in the back of her mind.

Cassidy had said he couldn't tell whether she had meant that in a good way or bad way.

If Lily was being honest with herself, neither could she.


	13. You Owe Me

_Y'all... y'all. I can't believe anyone still follows this story, I am floored every time I get a notification saying someone's reviewed and is still interested! I am so excited and thrilled to keep this going. I hope no matter where you are in this crazy world right now that you are doing well as can be. The Preacher 2020 Apocalypse plan that the Grail had in the show doesn't seem like such a long shot these days... crazy times we're living in, anything's possible? Praise Humperdoo! Cheers :)_

* * *

The morning sun struggled to pierce through the fog that surrounded Angelville, but somehow there'd been a few feeble rays that managed. Tulip's eyes stared at the beams of sun coming through the ratty old window. With one of her hands, she was drying her damp hair with a towel. She'd just gotten out of the shower, and she was feeling better than ever. There was no scarring from the bullet that had killed her, and finally she felt more like herself than maybe ever before. The sense of needing to be productive consumed her, she was eager to make up for the lost time - even if it was only a week.

With her mind as busy as it was, she'd subconsciously let her eyes wander around the room Jesse and her were staying in during their visit to room was full of different affects and personal belongings, until eventually her eyes followed the thin beam of daylight peering in towards a pile of stuffed animals in the far corner. The toys were all old, nearly falling apart, but one caught her eye better than the rest.

It was a dog.

Instantly, her mind flashed back to something that had consumed her thoughts off and on since she was revived from being dead.

She hadn't told anyone about the vision she'd had before she was brought back to life. To be honest, she hadn't really remembered it until recently. Now that her mind was more level and she had a better grip, more and more had been coming back to her.

There'd been a large man in a leather dalmation costume...

Maybe she should talk to Lily, she thought to herself. Lily had her fair share of experience with dreams and visions, sort of. On the other hand, Tulip could hardly remember what she saw herself, so it could be entirely pointless to bring it up.

But why had it been coming back to her so much...

The bedroom door opening yanked Tulip out from the internal turmoil. It was Jesse. "Hey." He smiled at her. "Hi." She sang back with a grin. Tulip was relieved to see Jesse making his way to her and kiss her. "I'm gonna go talk to Gran'ma." Jesse groaned with his arms around Tulip, "See if I can find an easy way to get us the Hell outta here."

Something in Tulip seriously doubted it, "Hmph." She raised her brows at him. He knew just the same as she did - it was unlikely. "Don't know until you ask." Jesse said softly, kissing her on the head as he got up and headed towards the door.

"I'll be outside." Tulip stated. With his hand still on the doorknob, he turned to her, examining her and noticing just how good she looked. His lips pressed into a smile and his eyes smiled back at her the same way. Nodding softly, he took a breath in, "I'll be out in a bit."

* * *

On her way down the hall, Tulip had grabbed Lily and Cassidy's attention, and they trailed after her right away. They'd all been looking forward to some fresh morning air - but it seemed like 'fresh air' wasn't a thing in Angelville. The air was thick and it tasted sour.

Wrapped up in several layers, Cassidy watched the two girls bantering back and forth from the shade of the overhang on a shed not far from them. He could hear their conversations perfectly fine but he didn't care to eavesdrop, he was just happy to see Tulip alive - the two of them comforting each other in a familiar way in a very unfamiliar place. Tulip cracked a beer, not caring the time of morning it was, urging Lily to do the same.

"It's warm, Tulip." Lily complained as she grabbed the can Tulip handed her.

Cassidy laughed to himself, not purposefully listening in, but enjoying the normalness between the girls. He adjusted his focus, his eyes wandering and soon Cassidy's mouth twisted in a sour way while his eyes began scouring the land around them behind the sunglasses on his face. Regardless of the muggy heat, somehow there was still a chill in Angelville. He couldn't wait to get them all as far from this place as possible.

The sound of a gunshot caused Cassidy's heart to skip, and he noticed himself push off the wall he'd been leaning on before it happened. It took a moment for him to realize it was Tulip who'd shot the gun.

If he'd been better listening to them he would've known Tulip had asked Lily for a gun to play with. "Oh, Lil!" Tulip laughed, "I can't tell you how good it feels to shoot a gun again." Cassidy sighed, shaking his head at the insanity of the two women a ways away from him. With a groan he wondered how after almost one hundred and twenty years on this planet how it was possible for him to suffer from PTSD like the average person. He'd gone through a lot of shit, but somehow when he'd heard Tulip's playful gunshot, his mind reverted to the gunshot that had killed Tulip. Their world had turned upside down in that split second. Cassidy felt a chill go through him while he examined the seemingly never ending property of Angelville, he didn't believe their lives had been flipped entirely upright again.

With a deep breath, he compiled himself. He needed a drink. However, he'd need more than the six pack of beer Tulip brought outside to suffice his need to drink. For the moment, he settled for a cigarette, sparking one up in his mouth and better listening to the two girls, sure that he would be aware of the next unpredictable and mildly-insane move they would likely make.

"Got anything bigger?" Tulip asked. Lily grabbed the duffle bag at her side, pulling out three pieces as she handed each one separately to Tulip to put together. There was no one Lily knew that was quicker to put together a gun than Tulip.

"How's things with Cass?" Tulip asked. Still leaning to the duffle bag for ammo, Lily glanced to Cassidy. She could barely make out his face from the distance he was, but she knew damn well he could hear them perfectly fine. Lily wondered if she should tell Tulip - who seemed to think they were out of earshot out of his capability of hearing - but she didn't have anything to hide so she didn't bother.

Tulip handed the small handgun she'd just used to Lily, who tucked it into her side, using her other hand to give Tulip some bullets for the larger gun, "Fine, I guess. About as good as can be in this Hell hole."

With one eye closed, Tulip held the gun she'd just put together up as if she was about to shoot, "Right." Tulip said, lowering the gun again as she placed the bullets inside, "I know you and Jess must be going through something so different than me and Cass." She sighed, "But I can't help but feel like Jesse's..." She stopped as Lily looked up at her.

Raising her brows, Lily wondered if Tulip was going to finish that thought. Tulip dipped her head down slightly and let her eyes peak at Lily - as if to read her thoughts.

"Jesse again?" Lily finally said. Tulip pressed her lips into a line, looking upwards again and clearing her throat, "Yea." She sighed. It was obvious that Jesse had gone through a real rough time with himself, but it was a relief to the both of them that he was back to the Jesse they knew and loved.

"I know." Lily reiterated. She stood up from the bag, crossing her arms and looking towards the beer cans Tulip had set up along a rickety old fence a ways away from them to shoot at. Tulip held the gun up to eye level again, closing one eye and taking aim. Lily waited for the shot, but it never came.

Finally, Tulip dropped the gun, "This one doesn't feel right." She stated, turning to Lily with the gun dropped to her side, "Got any others in there?"

Lily's brow dropped as she shifted her weight to the other leg, "What?" Lily asked, "You die and come back to life and now suddenly you're a gun snob?" She teased. With a soft laugh through her nose, Tulip smiled, "Hmph!"

Grabbing the duffle back, Lily dropped it at Tulip's feet, "Why don't you just take a look yourself then."

Tulip rifled around the bag, "Any rocket launchers or anythin' like that in here?" She asked jokingly.

Lily looked to the tiny beer cans lined up on the broken fence, imagining Tulip blasting a rocket through them and leaving a crater in the area, "Unfortunately not." Lily laughed. "Damn." Tulip swore, "Too bad."

Raising her brows and tilting her head, Lily nodded. Tulip grabbed another gun, her glance shifting to behind them - an old shack where Cassidy stood under, waiting patiently. Tulip smiled at him before turning back to the empty cans a ways in front of her. With a semi-automatic in her grasp, Tulip finally felt like she could shoot some shit, holding the gun up and pulling the trigger. It felt amazing blowing the cans to smithereens.

"Ow!" Lily grabbed her ear, ringing from the gunshot so close to her.

"What?" Tulip teased, yelling back at her.

"Some warning next time?" Lily shouted, "I've already had enough tinnitus for one lifetime." She stated.

Tulip was yelling in an over-dramatic manner, in means to make fun of Lily, "Is that what that is?" She shouted, "Been wonderin' why my ears ring so much while I'm trying to sleep." Tulip sang sarcastically. Lily stuck a hip out and rolled her eyes, "Gonna be deaf by the time we're 40." She groaned, rubbing at her ear again.

Tulip laughed, "C'mon!" Tulip said to Lily, throwing a gun right at her. Lily fumbled at the catch, barely grasping the gun before it hit the ground. With a playful shove, Tulip tried to rile Lily up, "Shoot somethin'! Feels good." She grinned.

Lily felt drained, and being around Tulip in her hyped up mood made Lily realize just how drained she really was. "Jesus." Lily swore, shaking her head and wiping her eyes with one hand, "You're really pumped up this morning, huh?" She noted, the beer can in her hand getting warmer than it was to start.

With a smirk, Tulip sauntered towards Lily, "Well excuse me for being so _lively_." She sang, finishing off another beer can to add to the fence. The smirk stayed on her face and there was a flicker in her eyes that Lily noticed - Tulip had more to say. Lily shook her head once and raised her brow, "What?" She asked cautiously, wondering what Tulip had to say about being so giddy.

Tulip's lips flattened a little, hesitant to say what was on her mind - which made Lily all the more curious. Lily dragged her feet to move closer to Tulip, moving her head in an impatient motion as she raised her brows, "Tulip, _what_?"

With Tulip's glance moving forward quick and her lips pressed tight, she finally swayed her eyes back to Lily, raising her brows and speaking quickly, "Sorry to say this but me and Jesse had amazing sex last night." Tulip stated.

"Ugh." Lily scoffed, finding herself taking a larger gulp of the warm beer than truly wanting to, "Great."

Tulip scooted towards Lily more, "I won't go into detail but it's like... the best in _years_, like since before shit really went down, ya know?" She said. Lily looked up from the gun at Tulip briefly, "That's great, Tulip." Lily stated flatly, trying not to imagine any unnecessary images in her head, "Really." She added to sound more genuine. Obviously that was a good thing, but it was hard to talk about things to do with sex life with Tulip when the other half of that topic was her brother. Lily aimed the gun towards a can and closed one of her eyes, and suddenly, it was as if a lightbulb went off in Lily's head, "Wait." She stood upright, lowering the gun and looking at Tulip, "What time?" Lily asked.

Tulip raised a brow, "What time... what?" She asked, "Did me and Jesse-" "Yea." Lily cut her off, "What time?"

"Uh..." Tulip pressed her lips together and frowned as she tried to think, "I dunno, like middle of the night, closer to mornin', I guess?" She stated, more confused than anything.

Lily's mind began racing. Cassidy had told her just the night before what Jesse had said about himself and Lily being connected much deeper than she had realized. From the shed a good distance away, Cassidy listened intently, following along to exactly what Lily was getting at, though Tulip really didn't understand either. Tulip was asking Lily what it had to do with anything, not noticing that Cassidy had found his way to their side with an umbrella popped up above him.

Did Jesse have something to do with Lily's dream twisting the way it had? It had to have. Cassidy's voice caught Tulip by surprise as she jumped to look at him behind her, "So you got 'im plastered the other night, n'he got ye horny last night." Cassidy stated.

"Jesus, Cass." Tulip said, "Scared the shit outta me, how long have you been standin' there?" He ignored Tulip, watching Lily's face. Immediately, her face had scrunched at Cassidy's statement, "That's one way to put it, I guess." Lily groaned, shimmying her body as she tried to shake out the disgusting feeling inside of her.

Tulip's brow narrowed, her eyes shifting from Cassidy to Lily before she shifted her weight towards her other hip and dropped her shoulders, "What the Hell are you two talkin' about?"

"Lily woke up all hot n'bothered, like." Cassidy explained without delay, "My guess is Jesse got heated, so Lily did too, with their fuckin'..." He threw an arm and pointed at Lily's hand with the unhealed scar, "Culty-voodoo-blood-bond-fuckin'... wotever it is." He groaned.

Tulip stared at Lily's hand, noticing the scar and her mind slowly piecing together what had happened, "Huh." She huffed simply, adjusting the gun in her hand, her lips forming a straight line as her brows were raised, shaking her head and letting out a sigh, "Guess that's just supposed to make sense now."

With a disgruntled sigh, Lily adjusted her sunglasses on her, feeling all sorts of confusion. "So," Tulip continued, "How long's that gonna be a thing for you guys?" With her head already shaking, Lily huffed again, "I don't know. I don't understand what it even is, Tulip." She hadn't meant to come across as short, but her frustration showed unwillingly.

Lily shook her head, scooting her feet against the dirt underneath her shoes as she looked down, "I don't know anything about anything these days." She said glumly, her mind in a crazy knot of confusion and lack of understanding. Tulip could see that asking questions about the new shared bond of Lily and Jesse wasn't helping, but something else flashed in her mind - the vision of the man dressed as a dalmation sparked in her mind. She had wanted to ask Lily what she thought of it, but it was clear Lily was worn out and not in the right mood to be asked any more questions.

Tulip cocked the gun in her hand, "Watch this." She stated, shifting the focus entirely as she aimed for another can lined up on the fence. Before she could shoot, another gunshot came from behind the three of them first, and the can had disappeared.

Cassidy, Tulip and Lily turned quickly all at once, seeing Jody standing from a ways back. He'd shot in a line between Tulip and Lily - a reckless move, but it was obvious he didn't care. Cassidy felt his blood boil as he stared at the large excuse of a man.

"What the Hell's your problem." Tulip dragged, turning entirely towards him.

Jody raised his chin slightly, his eyes narrow, "Where'd you get them guns?" He bellowed from his distance, not moving from his spot. The gun he held in his chest was large, but on scale to him it looked like he was cradling an infant.

Lily shifted her weight so she stood facing him, "They're mine." She stated.

With a smirk on his face, Jody chuckled softly, "Hmph." With the gun still grasped into his chest, he began dragging his feet and moving towards them until he was towering over them at their sides. He examined the gun in Tulip's hand first, then the gun in Lily's hand. Cassidy noticed the girls had locked eyes on the massive gun in Jody's arms, and it was as if the three of them were having a silent discussion.

Jody's eye moved to Cassidy, standing under the umbrella. With his frow crinkled, Jody raised his chin again, "Why the Hell you got an umbrella over ya?" Jody asked, "There ain't a rain cloud in sight." Cassidy nodded, "Yea, I got this skin condition, very serious stuff, it is. Gotta watch it-"

In an effort to change the focus off of Cassidy, Lily raised her small hand gun and pointed at the fence where more empty beer cans and pulled the trigger. Jody's voice, though she should've heard from behind her, sounded like it was coming from above since he was so much taller than all of them, "I bet your brother showed you how to handle a gun, huh?" He asked.

Lily turned back around, feeling her neck crank up to him as she talked, "A little. Tulip, mostly." She stated simply. Jody shifted weight, his tongue in his cheek curiously as his brownish yellow teeth showed while he grinned just a bit, "That so?" He asked, looking at Tulip, who pressed her lips together and waved her head one way, "What can I say?" She sang softly, shrugging and holding her arms open, "I love guns."

"Huh." Jody huffed, "Well, guess it makes sense why Jesse's got such a thing for you."

_A thing. _Tulip thought. _Go fuck yourself._

It was clear neither Tulip, Lily or Cassidy wanted Jody in their presence, but there was nothing they could do about it. It was like walking on glass when Jody was around - they all knew he was the one who killed Jesse and Lily's father, who knows what else he did or was capable of doing. On top of _that _he was an absolute unit. In all of Cassidy's time, he'd never seen a human man the shape or size of one that Jody was.

Not that Cassidy didn't think he couldn't kill him one on one - but it was different when there were things in the way (like the chance of Lily or Tulip being hurt or killed in the heat of it or, say, a blood bond that allowed the Custer's grandma to kill them at will). Cassidy's stomach turned, a knot forming as he realized how helpless he felt in the situation. A lot of what was going on was new to him, and he didn't have a solution to fix anything.

The best he could do was be there for them and wait until they had a plan. Jesse had said they would have a plan. He told Cassidy that. Cassidy hoped that's what Jesse was getting up to at this moment.

Cassidy's mind was finally pulled out of the small spiral when Jody whipped out a gun seemingly from nowhere - another larger one. The look on Lily and Tulip's eyes said it all. With her mouth open, Lily examined the gun in Jody's hands, and Tulip couldn't help but scooch closer to it, "Wow-" Tulip exhaled, her breath taken away, "The DDM4ISR..."

Jody smiled with his lips closed, "That's right." He claimed, "Why don't ya take it for a ride." Tulip didn't hesitate to grab it. It felt amazing. Lily found herself moving her sight from Tulip to Jody, wondering what his motive was and more importantly why was he being so pleasant? Well, he was still miserable to be around, of course, but for _him, _he was being pleasant. Lily noticed the concern in Cassidy too, but she did her best to conceal it and just watch Tulip as she took aim.

"Now-" Jody announced, "Blow those cans the fuck outta here!"

When Tulip raised the gun to her eyesight, she took a deep breath in and exhaled, ensuring he could hold steady aim. It was just a few empty cans, but with this gun in her hand she felt as if it was an assasination mission that her life depended on. For the first time in a long time - even since before she died - she felt like herself.

As she stared through the scope at the first can, she placed her finger on the trigger, ready to pull. Pressing down slowly, she was ready to feel the amazing burst from the gun, but in an instant, the euphoric feeling that consumed her was shattered. Something else in the line of sight had caught her eye - and it was moving.

Quickly, she dropped the gun from her sight, and the feeling of excitement of shooting an empty can turned into the thrill of hunting something unknown.

"What?" Lily asked immediately, noticing the shift in her energy.

Tulip stared forward towards where she had seen the movement, "Change of plans." She had already begun moving forward in a brisk march with the gun Jody had given her still in hand, "We're going hunting."

* * *

Inside the house, Jesse had approached his grandmother, hoping to find an easy way out of Angelville, no matter how much his heart doubted that would be the case. But he had to try.

"Jesse, darling." Marie L'Angelle sang in a tone that permanently sounded off-key it was so forced, "Would you get your dear gran'ma her blanket. I'm offly chilly this mornin'." She let out a pathetic hack, and Jesse reached for an old knitted blanket covered in holes as he wrapped it around her and tucked it into the sides of the wheelchair she sat in permanently.

"Oh," His granmother cooed, placing a hand on him as he leaned over her still, "Just ought to mention, it's best the Boy'd don't know you're home yet." Jesse felt his stomach turn, there was nothing _home _about Angelville, but he kept his mouth shut.

The Boyd's were essentially the rivals of the L'Angelles, similar business models, but very different views and opinions on nearly everything. "Mhm." Jesse hummed simply. He stood upright, having tucked his grandmother in as requested as he stood in front of her, dragging his feet back a couple steps while he looked down to her.

Raising a handkerchief to her lips, she wiped away some excess spit, talking into it as it muffled her falsely, sweet tone of voice, "I was thinkin'-" She coughed, clearly trying to depict an image of the helpless, sweet old grandmother, when Jesse knew that wasn't the case, "Would be nice if we could get the Tombs up and runnin' again."

Feeling a chill run through him, Jesse made sure to take a moment to think about how to approach the topic of the Tombs. The Tombs had been a horrible memory that Jesse had to live with. When he was merely a young man - teenager even - he'd helped his grandmother, Jody and TC run the Tombs. It was practically a fight club that people would place bets on with a sick, ugly Angelville twist - the loser wouldn't walk away with just a sore ego or an empty pocket, in fact the loser wouldn't walk away at all.

The loser didn't die, no, well.. not all of them. But they'd lose their soul. Not even lose their soul, have the soul sucked out of them with the most God awful machine created. They'd be left a lifeless shell, withering away at an alarmingly slow rate. Gran'ma needed souls to stay alive, to stay as young as possible and above that - for power. She had been in her prime when the Tombs were up and running, and the stronger she was, the crazier and more dangerous Angelville was.

Jesse stared at his grandmother in front of him, all around her skeleton-like body veins popped out and looked like a road map all over her. Her skin was transparent, covered with age spots and deep wrinkles. It was clear, of course, why she wanted the Tombs open. Tombs meant souls, and souls meant power.

Worse than the thought of gran'ma gaining more power, was the fact that the Tombs had brought out the worst in Jesse, proving to himself how much darkness had really gotten into him - he sure as Hell wasn't going to let that happen again.

Jesse matched his grandmother's desperately false sweet tone, "I think it's time we head out of here, gran'ma." He said softly, "We gotta go." He asserted in nearly a whisper.

When she pressed her lips into a smile, it was crooked, "Oh, Jesse. My sweet, sweet Jesse." Marie L'Angelle sighed, adjusting herself in her seat slightly, "That's not gonna happen." She sang. Raising his brow slowly he took a breath in, before he could say or ask anything, his grandmother was talking again, "You've been gone from home a long, long time, Jesse." She cooed, her sweetness tainted by the clear resentment and hatred that was inside of her, "That's a lot of souls you owe me." She smiled.

Once again, Jesse battled the urge not to speak his mind directly. The fact his grandmother believed Jesse owed her _anything _was the farthest thing from the truth. This wasn't home. It was Hell, and Jesse had a list of things his grandmother owed him for the shit he went through here. He kept his soft face and voice steady, "Or," Jesse started, his patient and kind front becoming harder to maintain, "You can say, 'hey, it's been nice to see you Jesse, spell's broken' and let us be on our way." He sang back, mocking her tone and contradicting smile with one of his own.

With her mouth closed, she giggled softly, taking a quick exhale as her mouth was still in a grin, "Now, why would I ever say that?"

It was obvious, there wasn't going to be an easy way out of Angelville- there never had been, but Jesse had to have at least tried. Now he knew deeper into his grandmother's intentions, and now he knew he'd have to get creative to devise a plan - if only he had Genesis...

Jolting on spot, Jesse felt his right hand cramp up and a dull pain. He looked down at it, shaking his hand and wondering what caused the spasm.

A loud scream bellowed through the rickety old house, "Woooo-EEE!" TC howled. Instantly, Jesse stood upright, turning towards the door of the room and opening it to see what the commotion was about, "What's going on?" Jesse asked. TC had a shotgun in his hands and a wide tooth-missing grin plastered on his face, "We got ourselves some trespassers, Little Jesse! Woooo-ee!" He yelled again, cocking the gun in his hands and pointing it upwards to the ceiling.

Jesse glanced briefly at his grandmother once more, the false grin still across her lips as she knew she had the upper hand - for now, Jesse thought. Suddenly, it was as if a rush of adrenaline took him over, his head went light and he felt his stomach flutter and anxiousness consume him - then anger. Had his grandmother just done something to him unknowingly?

Finally he realized, staring at the unique and foreign scar on his palm that he had connected with Lily to for their blood pact to their grandmother.

_Lily_. He thought.

"Where are they TC?" Jesse asked, pushing from the room as he followed TC in his giddy quick paced skip out the front door of the house a ways around the house, over the fence to where Jesse soon heard the spectacle before he saw anything, "**YOU FUCKING BITCH!"** He heard Lily scream. Jesse began to run, the screeching tone of his sister completely foreign to him as he couldn't remember if he even ever heard his sister yell like the way she just did.

"**YOU'RE DEAD!" **Lily screamed, "**YOU HEAR _ME_? YOU'RE _DEAD_!"**

As Lily's screams echoed through the vast space they were surrounded in, Jesse felt his heart in his throat, the overflow of rage fueling into himself, "Lily!" Jesse yelled, seeing the blur of motion that was his sister on the ground, hardly noticing Cassidy, Tulip and Jody. TC's running pace came to a stop as he simply spectated like everyone else. Jesse bolted up to his sister, who straddled over someone or something, Jesse wasn't sure. He pulled her off as she huffed and puffed, like a feral animal.

He pulled her aside and put his hands on her shoulders, looking in her fiery eyes briefly before glancing at the rest of her. The first thing Jesse had noticed was the blood on her one arm, and her hand - Lily's fist was probably broken, judging by the looks of it, and it explained the spasm and pain Jesse had felt just moments ago - but she was alright for the most part. Things just needed to calm down or soon Jesse would be seeing red like she was.

With his grasp still tight on his sister, Jesse turned to see what Lily had been beating down. On the ground, with an arm broken clean and a nose so broken it already looked like she had two black eyes was the Grail agent Featherstone - and Jesse recognized her. His brow scrunched briefly before Lily's voice broke his train of thought, "That's her," Lily growled, still breathing heavy, "That's the fucking piece of shit that killed Tulip."


	14. Every Last One Of Them

There was an entourage of them, it seemed, walking down the beaten and overgrown path. Lily, noticing her hand she'd used to punch Featherstone in the face throbbing more and more by the second, was walking between Cassidy and Tulip in the back, while Jesse walked just in front of them by a few steps, Featherstone tight in his grasp. Ahead of them, Jody and TC leaded, guns in hand while they kept close to another Grail agent, who went by the name Hoover, who they'd discovered lingering in the bushes not long after they'd found Featherstone.

Tulip glanced towards Lily at her side as they walked, "Thought I taught you how to punch better than that." She teased, staring at Lily's bruised hand. With a heavy sigh, Lily cranked her head one way, "I guess I should've let you give it to her." She groaned apologetically, "Sorry. I lost my temper too fast."

Tulip laughed softly, understanding that if the roles had been reversed, Tulip probably would've done the same. It was one thing to die and come back to life, but she knew that Lily had gone through a period of time where she thought Tulip was dead for good, so she understood that the feeling of hate for Featherstone was probably even more than what Tulip had for her.

"Nah," Tulip sighed, "Was hopin' it would go a little longer. Too bad Jess had to come in and ruin the fun." She joked. Deep down inside she knew she'd be the one putting a bullet to Featherstone head soon enough.

With his grip tightening onto Featherstone's unbroken arm a little harder, Jesse huffed at Tulip's statement, "Well when I felt like I punched a concrete wall when I was just sittin' there mindin' my own business, I knew there was somethin' wrong." He stated, "Fuck me for being worried, I guess." He sighed sarcastically. With a permanent scowl plastered on her face, Featherstone glanced to Jesse, reluctantly dragging her feet as Jesse pulled at her.

"I wasn't thinking about you, obviously." Lily huffed, "I was thinking about beating that bitch until she was a broken pile of bones."

"Hmph! Please." Featherstone scoffed, "As if you could've killed me with your bare hands. You punch like a girl." She spat between clenched teeth. Lily felt her blood boil and it took every part of her not to lunge a few feet forward and plow Featherstone back to the ground, and at the same time, Tulip cocked the hand gun in her hand - but Jesse's eyes looking back at his sister and girlfriend stopped the both of them in their brief moment of thought before anything could come out of it.

"I loved it, honestly." Cassidy added, "Every second of it. When ye snapped 'er arm-" He brought up his free hand not holding the umbrella to his lips and pinched his fingers together and made a kissing gesture to them, "Some of yer best work I've seen yet." He gushed proudly.

Jody's voice bellowed over top of everyone else's, "Suppose now that you two got that thing goin' on..." He started, slowing his pace so he was standing at Jesse's side while he walked, "You feel what the other does, then?" TC turned his head back curiously as well.

Both Jesse and Lily ignored the question Jody had asked, the only sound was all of their feet scaping the dirt beneath them. When he didn't get an answer, Jody took it into his own hands - literally, "Like this?" Jody smacked Jesse on the back of the head.

"Ow! Fuck, Jody!" Jesse swore, grabbing at the back of his head with his free hand that wasn't gripped onto Featherstone on his other side. "No." Tulip said from behind them, "Don't think Lily felt that. Try a little harder, maybe." She enticed.

Going for another smack, Jody lifted his arm, and Jesse ducked, "Cut it out, Jody!" For the first time since they'd shown up, they heard Jody's laugh. It was deep and maniacal.

Eventually, they'd made it to a swampy area, Tulip's mouth went crooked as she glanced around, "How many rotten sheds are on this fucking property?" She asked, staring at the crooked shack they were walking towards. There was no answer from anyone. Attached to the shack was a dock going out into the water - if you could even call it water. Lily stared at the still and thick muck that surrounded them. The dock had several missing planks, and the ones still left on it looked very unpromising.

"Get out there." Jesse pushed at Featherstone to where TC and Jody had some sort of meat grinding machine set up. Hoover, the other grail agent, stayed behind near Lily, Cassidy and Tulip - who seemed to all silently vouch in together not to step foot on the sketchy dock and watch from a distance. Grabbing a rock from the ground, Lily tossed it into the swamp in front of them. As expected, the thick algae and filth that consumed the body of water enveloped the rock immediately - it was as if the swamp swallowed it in front of their eyes, not even a few inches from the surface it was nowhere to be seen.

A shiver went through Lily, and it seemed Cassidy read her mind, "Who knows wot the fuck's been at the bottom of this bog." To which Tulip huffed impatiently, crossing her arms and staring toward the dock, "I just want to tie a few cement blocks to these fucker's ankles and toss them off already so we can be done with all this shit." She stated.

They all stared at Jody and TC, Featherstone standing in front of them as she awaited her unknown future. Everyone's attention was consumed to Jody and TC as they started the loud, screeching machine - loading the giant grinder with anything and everything - dead racoons, weasels, Hell - even a whole turtle, shell and all.

Tulip, Cassidy and Lily hadn't even noticed Jesse had left the dock - their eyes were glued to the fluorescent, red goop that poured out of the grinder each time something else went into it. The pipe leading out of it was spitting and splattering out into a giant mason jar, to which Jody soon picked up and took a swig out of. With a twist in their stomach, Lily and Tulip cringed in unison.

"Swamp consume!" TC declared, to which Lily noticed Tulip's neck practically snap as she glared daggers at Cassidy, who stood between them with his large umbrella. He looked down at her, "Wot?" He yelled over the loud machine. Tulip raised her brow, "That's the stuff you gave me the other day?! That's what this was!?" She shouted. Cassidy raised his brows as they arched over his sunglasses, "Well I heated it up first! Suppose to kill diseases n'shite, like!" He yelled back. Lily turned towards the machine again, watching more gunk spew out of it, "Oh no." She groaned, too quiet for anyone to hear over the noise other than Cassidy, who turned to Lily, "How was I suppose t'know!?" He yelled. Tulip stepped closer to Cassidy to better yell in his face, "I can't believe you gave me that shit-"

"Hey!" Jesse's voice bellowed from behind them, and they hadn't noticed he'd even been off the dock, "Where's the other one!?" The three of them turned, their eyes scouring the area as they realized Hoover had disappeared. Jesse pressed his lips together angrily, "Damn it!" He swore, stomping towards where Featherstone stood on the dock, "Go find him!" He ordered, yelling loudly over the noise of the grinder.

The three of them scattered immediately, determined to find any trace of Hoover, the other Grail Agent who'd gotten away. There was no trace of him, not even Cassidy could pick up a scent or movement. Tulip was running into the woods, not sure she was on any kind of lead until she heard movement. Following it, she realized it was Jesse with Featherstone, and she watched in disbelief as he let the bitch who killed her get away - willingly.

* * *

The sun was down, the bedroom that Tulip and Jesse were staying in during their stay in Angelville was dark other than an old lamp letting off a feeble bit of light in the far corner. Jesse stood in the middle of the room, explaining himself as fast as he could to his sister, girlfriend and best friend.

With her lips in a tight line, Tulip sat on the bed, Lily just a few feet away was sitting on an old armchair that reeked of stale cigarette smoke and moth balls.

"Listen," Jesse continued, "I didn't get a chance to tell you guys all this because everythin' just happened so fast-" The sound of a lighter sparking cut his words briefly, and Tulip glanced towards Lily at her side, who was lighting a cigarette between her fingers. From the other side of the room, Cassidy stood near a window, peaking out every now and again as something caught his eye - but there was always nothing there. He sighed, leaning against the wall and listening.

Lily's voice was quiet and cold, "You just..." She dragged for a while on her cigarette, "Let her go." She exhaled a trail of smoke, shaking her head up at her brother, "She killed Tulip... and you let her go." Jeese moved his head to the side, his eyes closing as he felt the frustration brew inside of him - of course he had to understand where the anger from them was coming from, it sounded really awful, but he had to explain, "Lily, just _listen_, to me for a second, alright?"

Jesse was speaking as quietly as possible, with a lot of speed and determination behind him, "I can't break what's been done with gran'ma without Genesis. I _need_ Genesis, and the only way to get it back is through the Grail. I'm just using them as a means to get it back, and then once I do, things will go the way we want them to. I couldn't just kill them then and there - I mean, we don't have a way to do hardly anythin' without gran'ma or Jody or TC knowin' about it, so those Grail agents were my only fucking hope at getting Starr here to get Genesis back." Jesse explained.

Feeling her heart sink, Lily remembered just how trapped they were. The memory of herself being choked out the one time she'd tried to leave was flooding her mind again. Lily looked up, feeling Tulip's eyes on her as the both of them came to an immediate understanding - the fury inside of them quickly diminishing.

"I need my power back to get us out of here." Jesse reiterated, "And the only way to do that is to convince Starr that I'm still with him."

Tulip looked up at Jesse who stood in front of her, waiting for her to say anything. They locked eyes and Tulip read them well, "Then we kill them." She stated more than asked. Jesse kept his eyes locked to hers, "We kill them all." He agreed, "Gran'ma, Jody, the Grail, every last one of them."

Cassidy finally spoke, hoping to shed some good energy, "Sounds like y'got a plan, padre." He sang quietly. Jesse nodded at Cassidy, "I can't leave Angelville, but I have an idea of how to get Genesis back to me right here _in_ Angelville, so we'll need a distraction. Kinda like the one today." He explained, waiting for a moment before continuing, "Which means," Jesse sighed, leaning against the end of the bed frame, "It's gonna have to start with you two-" He looked from Tulip to Cassidy, "Since you're the half of us who can leave this property without being worried about being choked to death by your grandmother." Tulip let out a feeble chuckle at how insane that scenario was, "Hmph."

"What about me?" Lily stated, her brother his head to her, "I'm just supposed to run around doing errands for our gran'ma with Jody?" With his head already shaking, Jesse took a quick breath, "No." He said, "Show me that book of mom's again."

* * *

"You try any of this stuff?" Jesse asked, flipping pages of the book Lily had found hidden in the wall of the bedroom her and Cassidy were staying in. They were sitting in their room now, Tulip and Cassidy stayed behind in the other bedroom going over the little instructions Jesse had given them on what to do tomorrow. Cassidy listened in to what Lily and Jesse were talking about from down the hall, but it was a bit distracting seeing as Tulip was finding anything she could laying around to construct a bomb out of a toy car that had been laying in the room since God knows how long.

Lily shook her head to her brother, "Try? Jesse, I don't even know what this shit _is_." She took a deep breath, "Why don't you try." Jesse huffed, "Hmph. _I've_ never had a knack for anything like this." Jesse groaned quietly.

From beside him sitting on the bed, she shifted her weight to lean into him, her brows narrow over her eyes even though his eyes were on the book in his lap, "What's that supposed to mean." She groaned back.

"It means that you've got more of this stuff in you than I ever will." He stated, flipping another page, "I think it's worth a shot." Finally, he looked up to his sister at his side, and her face said it all. She wasn't entertained by the idea and she wasn't convinced, either. Dropping his shoulders, Jesse turned to her a little more, "Come on." Jesse scoffed, "You're telling me that after everythin' you've been through, you still don't believe there's something in you?" He took a sharp breath, "I mean, for fuck's sake, you're telling me all your visions you've had your whole life, that intuition and feeling inside of you, Hell - even a few days ago you brought us right to where our mom's buried without knowing anything about it - not to _mention_, that the ghost of our mother has been coming to you, and she even took it upon herself to throw down that damn dresser and pretty much rubbed your face in it-" His hands shook the book, "And you don't think that _means_ something-" "No." Lily said quickly, raising her brows and staring at the book, "You're right. It does, it does." She took a deep breath in, a bit overwhelmed by it.

Jesse's eyes moved back to the pages, "All's I'm sayin' is I think mom used these... " He wasn't sure how to phrase them. When their grandmother had used any form of her powers it was always dark, terrifying experiences, but the notes written in his book by their mother wasn't anything like that. They seemed to be defense tactics, things she used to protect herself from the evil in Angelville, "...practices-" Jesse continued, "-to stay alive as long as she could here."

"Did you see her use any of these?" Lily asked, her eyes wide as she looked into Jesse's, searching for any form of advice or guidance, "I don't know where to start with all of this." Lily said with a quiet and shaky voice. Jesse felt his heart sink, "No." He sighed. He'd never seen their mother practice anything like what their grandmother did. Their grandmother practiced loud and proud, using the evil things she conjured for the purpose to shove into people's faces and induce fear - maybe their mother had been practicing silently. Jesse shook his head again, swallowing the lump in his throat, "Like I told you, I was scared of all the things gran'ma would do. I didn't want to know about most of it, and anything I did end up knowin' about scared the Hell outta me then and still now to this day." His eyes went over another page before speaking into it thoughtfully, "But maybe it doesn't always have to be that way." He said slowly, before looking back to his sister, "I think mom did all this stuff in secret. I mean, look how she hid it. I think what she was doing was behind everyone's backs, silently protecting herself or me or whatever."

He could see the gears turning in Lily's head as her eyes moved to the book and she began thinking herself. Finally, she looked back at him, "I've been waiting to see her again so I can ask what it all means. To ask for some help."

Shifting his weight Jesse sat more upright, "Listen, I know it's a lot, and I know neither of us really understand any of it... but I promise part of my plan is to find someone who can help you out with all this. But for now, can you just do me the favour of just seeing what you're capable of?" They stared at each other a moment, "Yea," Lily's voice finally said, "I can do that, Jess." He smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her right away and squeezing her tight. Deep inside Jesse, he believed that Lily was capable of a lot more than any of them could imagine. A large part of him was convinced that if for some reason he wasn't able to get Genesis back, Lily and her unknown potential could be their only way out of Angelville.


	15. The Chance To Figure It All Out

The next morning, Lily was woken up by Cassidy. He was gentle, and when she opened her eyes and looked at him he was entirely dressed with his coat on, "Hey," He cooed, "Me n'Tulip gotta go get this show on the road." He said softly, his hand still on her as he sat on the bed at her side.

"Hmm." Lily hummed sleepily, adjusting herself to sit up a bit more. Cassidy could see her struggle to open her eyes completely yet, "Sorry t'wake ye up." He groaned, "Ye looked so peaceful. Didn't want t'go without sayin' so." Lily took a deep breath and let out a long exhale, "No, it's fine."

"Any dreams?" Cassidy asked, hoping he hadn't interrupted something, but from past experiences he figured he hadn't - on the count of her being as still and at peace as she was when she slept. Lily thought about it for a second, "No." For the first time in a long time, she hadn't dreamt, "Kind of nice, actually."

"Hm." Cassidy hummed in agreement before kissing her on the head, "Gotta go send a bomb off now." He stated lovingly. "Right." Lily said, remembering part of Jesse's plan to entice a family with the last name Boyd - apparently they were rivals to the L'Angelles. That was the distraction Jesse needed - a redneck civil war... Suddenly, Lily remembered that she'd been reading her mother's notebook when she fell asleep, her hands slapped down to her sides onto the bed, when she didn't feel it, she peered over the side of the bed to the ground. "I put it away." Cassidy said, tilting his head to the dresser that hid the opening in the wall where they originally found it. With visible relief, Lily sunk back down, thinking how careless it was for her to just fall asleep with the book out like that - what if Jody or TC had somehow come in and found it? "After ye fell asleep I made sure to put it away." Cassidy said, before he stood back up, squeezing her with the hand that was still on her arm, "Back soon." He assured. "Bye Cass." Lily groaned into the pillow as she laid her head back into the pillow, noticing a tall glass of fresh water - although it was pigmented a dark beautiful shade of maroon that she recognized all too well from Cassidy's blood.

Tulip and Cassidy were off before anyone even noticed or suspected a thing, while Jesse and Lily were full attention to whatever their grandmother had asked. It was still early in the morning, and Marie L'Angelle had a never-ending list for them with various things to do.

"I'm gonna go out and get some stuff done outside with Jody." Jesse had told his sister, leaving her in the kitchen with TC, "Gran'ma's out there, too." He assured, "You need anythin' just call, alright?" He stated, "Sure." Lily smiled at him. The thing about TC was, he was creepy as all Hell, with more than a few screws loose to say the least - but he didn't bestow the fear onto her like Jody or gran'ma did. She was convinced she had the better end of the errand deal for the day. Jesse nodded, half out the back door as he leaned his head to one side, "There's coffee on the stove."

"Thanks." Lily stated, walking straight for it. "Mornin' Lady Lil." TC sang off-key at her side, "Mornin' TC." Lily echoed back at him in the same tone, pouring a blissful cup of coffee. "Have ya ever seen what it's like to give a goat some-a that stuff?" TC asked as Lily carefully placed the coffee pot down. She raised her brows, shifting her sight back and forth from the stove to TC, "Coffee?" TC nodded energetically, "Yea." Lily lowered her head slightly, "Have I ever given a goat... coffee?" She repeated, unable to wrap her head around the question properly. TC nodded again, smiling a little wider, "Yea!" He repeated, "Dis one time. We was out doing a job for this-" As TC went on about his goat coffee bean story, Lily zoned out, staring into his eyes and she realized something.

She'd thought a lot about what Jesse had told her the night before. She'd read her mother's notebook, no matter how little she understood from start to finish multiple times, but no part of her had actually thought about how she would go about trying any of it.

A lot of what her mother had written was to do with self protection, but there were a few things that seemed to manipulate others. A lot of which had to do with the human mind - those had reminded her of the feeling she'd felt when she had been alone with her grandmother and Tulip when she was still dead. One minute she was fine, the next second Madame L'Angelle had seemed to dig herself into Lily from a distance causing her to black out - her mother had been there when she first woke up...

Lily wondered if what her grandmother had done was something similar. Had her gran'ma gotten into Lily's mind? If so, what had she done and what had she seen?

She was getting off track. She needed to stop thinking about the what ifs and focus on what she knew for sure. Her mind went back to her mother's notebook. TC seemed to be as simple minded as they came, making him the perfect guinea pig. As TC continued to ramble in the background, Lily's internal thoughts began scouring the material she'd read over and over the night before. She remembered one, and tried her best to remember the notes her mother had written about it.

**_*Works for projecting sleepiness, busy thoughts - distraction._**

Internally, she worried what would happen to someone else she tried anything on, but the one in her mind seemed fairly harmless, but who knows, she thought to herself, maybe she would figure out she could explode someone's head with a simple snap of her fingers and they would be out of Angelville sooner than anticipated?...

That was wishful thinking.

For now, she was going to try and see if she could make TC drowsy, as her mother's instructions had noted that it was somewhat successful. Clearing her mind, Lily took a deep breath, remembering her mother's notes..

**_Deep breath externally_**

**_Deep breath internally_**

**_Open your mind_**

Deep inside of herself, she felt a burn, a fiery feeling that warmed her from the inside out.

**_Open their mind_**

**_Meditate on the words to project onto their mind_**

**_Repeat until honed _**

Before Lily could realize what was even going on, TC's body went limp and his head smacked against the counter before falling to the kitchen floor. Lily jolted in alarm on spot, her heart pounding and panic setting in as her jaw was nearly dropped to the floor. She waited to see if anyone had heard the commotion before moving to the kitchen window, Jody was on the far side of the property, and Lily could just barely make his figure out in the distance - Jesse and her gran'ma were nowhere in sight.

Quickly bending down, Lily checked for a pulse from TC, worried she might've killed him - she was thankful that there was in fact a pulse still in him. It took several minutes, but soon, she was able to wake him up, "TC! TC, wake up!" She urged, hoping no one would walk into the scenario. TC's eyes opened slowly, a fogginess to him as he spoke slower than usual, "Christina? That you?" TC asked, "Well aren't you an angel." He sighed dreamingly.

Lily found herself checking her back, wondering if her mom's spirit _was_ lingering, or whether it was just simply TC coming to and being confused - but her mother wasn't anywhere in sight. "No, TC," Lily shook her head, hovering above him as she shook him a bit, "It's me. It's Lily. You..." She struggled to find an explanation, "Passed out." Lily handed him some water as she helped him sit up on the kitchen floor, "Here." TC took the glass of water from her, sipping on it as he took a deep breath, "Ahh." He sighed, shaking his head. Trying her best to seem concerned and innocent, Lily studied TC's face, finding herself feeling sort of bad for using him the way she did for a brief moment.

"You alright?" Lily asked, "Your head's bleeding a little bit." She stated, handing him a dish cloth. "Yea," TC groaned softly, "I'm fine. Must've been that brew I made. Hmph!" He chuckled softly, standing up to his feet now, "Been experimentin' with the home brew. Drank too much too early." He chuckled. Lily felt relieved, thankful for TC coming up with an excuse on his own. As he massaged the side of his head, Lily grabbed her coffee, taking a sip of it.

There was a sound that Lily recognized all too well, the sound of Tulip's car engine. It hadn't been long since they'd left, but then again, Tulip was never one to take her time when she was behind the wheel of her car. Eagerly, Lily rushed towards the front door, thankful to see Tulip and Cassidy walk in. As Cassidy shut his umbrella inside the entrance of the house, Lily urged the both of them upstairs with a stern look.

They were quick to follow her, not saying a word until they followed her into the bedroom as she shut the door behind them, her cup of coffee still in her hand. "What?" Tulip hissed quietly, noticing the look on Lily's face.

"I just did something." Lily whispered, talking quickly, "Jesse asked me to try some stuff out in that notebook of my mothers I found, and I tried something on TC and it _worked_." Tulip shifted on spot, "Did you kill him?" She asked eagerly. Lily's face scrunched, "No, I didn't _kill_ him." She shook her head. TC was the last person in Angelville Lily would want to kill anyway. "I got into his head and I made him pass out on spot." She whispered.

Cassidy and Tulip stared at Lily curiously, and Tulip raised an eyebrow, "How'd you do that?"

"I don't know!" Lily exclaimed, "I just went over that notebook a few times and thought of one I could try on him and I thought of that one and before I even knew what I was doing he fell down and smacked his fucking head on the counter." She said quickly. It was clear the both of them were intrigued as they looked at Lily. Tulip shifted her weight a bit, "Show me." She said, "Try it on me."

"No!" Lily hissed quickly, "I don't even know how I did it, what if I hurt you?"

"Try it on me, then." Cassidy stated, grabbing her hands, "Wot's the worst that could happen?" He smiled, "Can't kill me." Lily looked up at him, his eyes were behind his sunglasses but she could read them perfectly. Part of her wondered if whatever she held inside of her was capable of killing anything - even Cassidy. She pulled her mind away from the thought - it wasn't good to be thinking like that.

With a heavy breath, Lily looked to Tulip at Cassidy's side, who gave an encouraging gesture, eager to see what Lily was going on about. "C'mon." Tulip said ethuasiatically, "You gotta practice this shit and figure out what's really inside of you, Lil. After spendin' all your life ignoring it and running away from everythin' to do with your family you've finally got the chance to figure it all out." She sang, "Besides, the Boyd's will be comin' here any minute now and we gotta get out there to distract."

Tulip was right, Jesse had sent Tulip and Cassidy to throw a toy car bomb into the Boyd's place to stir the pot and antagonize them to come cause some trouble at Angelville - which was that master distraction so Jesse could have a moment with Herr Starr without anyone in Angelville knowing about it. Soon Jesse would have Genesis back and they would be out of Angelville.

Lily looked back to Cassidy, "Alright." She sighed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Cassidy's hands were still on hers and she felt him squeeze. There was the same fiery burn in her as there was just before she'd been able to manipulate TC's mind to cause him to go to sleep, but it was deeper, and hotter.

Tulip watched Lily, her eyes closed as she shifted on spot, her shoulders dropping down and her face still. Soon after Cassidy's eyes closed and both Lily and Cassidy stood completely still - there was silence in the room and she felt a shiver run through her as she just watched the two of them stand in complete silence.

...

_Lily felt herself fall onto the ground, "Oomph!" She groaned, the sticks and rocks beneath her on the ground jabbing into her knees and hands. With her breath escaping her, Lily looked up, she was in a bushy area, the sun rays peeking through the trees. Quickly, she stood up, the crunch of sticks and dried leaves beneath her steps as she found her way out to a dirt path. There was a strong breeze, the scent was fresh and sweet. Across was a sea of fields and hills - she didn't recognize where she was. It was hot, the sun was beaming down on her now that she wasn't covered by any foliage. She took another deep breath in, her lungs filling with the beautiful air. From her left she heard a scuffle, seeing a figure walking towards her, still a ways away. She waited, not knowing what to expect as she checked behind her for anything. _

_The breeze was cold, a nice contrast to the hot sun powering down on her. As the figure got closer, she felt a little uneasy seeing them jaunt a bit faster. __"Lily?" The man said. It took her a long time to realize it was Cassidy, "Cass?" Lily asked, just to be sure._

_"Wot the Hell?" Cassidy asked, stopping a few steps away from her, "How are you here?" __Lily opened her mouth, staring out to the scenery once more before turning back to him and shaking her head, "I-I don't know." She examined his clothing, not able to pinpoint the era they were in, but knowing that judging by the looks of his apparel, it was a long time in the past. Suddenly, she realized the most alarming thing - Cassidy was standing in the sun without bursting into flames. She walked closer to him, her eyes scouring his arms and face. Not only was his skin not on fire, he had a glow to him that she'd never seen. He was beaming with health and radiance. Wherever they were, he was human here. It was no wonder she didn't recognize him until he'd said something. His eyes weren't clouded over, they were crystal clear. The qualities in him made her speechless as she continued to notice all the differences to the Cassidy she'd known._

_"Proinsias!" Someone yelled from behind him, he turned as Lily leaned over to peak behind him. There was another person coming, and Lily suddenly felt herself remember that this wasn't a reality. She wasn't sure where they were, but suddenly, with the threat of someone else coming into play - she worried she may lose control somehow._

_"Cassidy." She said quickly, grabbing at his face as she turned his eyes to hers. With her grasp tight around his face, he looked deep into her eyes as she stared up into his, __"Sleep." She said. When she spoke, his eyes rolled back and she felt the both of them fall to the ground._

_..._

At the moment they'd fallen in the state they were in, Lily felt herself come to reality again - the feeling of a push went through her, jolting her on spot. She gasped, waking up from the trance she was in and Cassidy's body had gone limp, releasing his hands from hers and falling backwards towards the ground. Tulip tried her best to catch Cassidy before he fell, but a good portion of his body weight hit the ground with a loud _thunk. _Tulip stared in awe at Cassidy, letting go of his arm that she tried to hold while he'd collapsed down before she looked to Lily, who looked on the verge of collapsing herself.

"Woah, woah, woah." Tulip said quickly, running to Lily's side and moving her to a chair not far, "Sit down." She ordered softly. When Lily's eyes opened all the way, she was incredibly light headed, "Ugh." She groaned, her head pounding slightly. "Holy shit, Lil. It worked!" Tulip gasped to Lily, looking to Cassidy on the ground, "It worked!" Tulip noticed that Lily didn't seem had hyped as she was just moments before, her eyes were on Cassidy on the ground - his skin was so pale it was nearly translucent and somehow that simple fact made her feel relieved, knowing she was back to reality, somewhere she was more familiar with compared to where ever it was they just were.

Lily let out a heavy sigh, still staring at Cassidy, "How long were we out?" Tulip was crouched at her side, "I dunno.." She shrugged, pressing her lips together as she bobbed her head side to side, "A minute?" A minute? Lily thought to herself. It had felt like an hour. All the details from the experience were flooding in her mind. How had that all happened in the matter of a minute?

Obviously noticing the alarm inside of Lily, Tulip grabbed her, "Hey, you alright? What happened?" Lily shook her head, "I don't know what that was." She stated, "That didn't happen with TC."

The two girls turned their heads towards the window in the bedroom when there was the distinct sound of roaring vehicle engines not far away now, and Angelville was expecting visitors. Tulip stood upright, walking towards Cassidy, "We gotta wake him up." She shook at Cassidy on the ground, "Cass! Wake up! It's show time." She urgered, "No sense checking his pulse since he wouldn't have one right?" Tulip groaned.

Lily sat upright before standing, still feeling lightheaded as her heart skipped, "What!?" She asked in alarm, "Of course he does! Does he not have a pulse?" Oh God, she thought, had she managed to find a way to kill Cassidy afterall? "Relax!" Tulip hissed impatiently, "I haven't even checked, jeez, Lil. I just figured since he's already dead and all-"

"He's not _already dead_, Tulip." Lily hissed back, "Ugh." She scoffed, her hand checking for his pulse - which was there, "Cassidy wake up!" Lily said loudly, shaking him furiously before taking off his sunglasses and prying his eyes open. Lily felt another wave of relief go through her as they were the foggy and glazed over eyes she remembered, but they were rolling back in his head as he continued to sleep. Tulip's eyebrows raised, "Jesus Christ. We might have to do this without him." Lily huffed, not concerned about causing a distraction without him, but a little worried about whether she put him into an internal slumber if she was being honest. Cassidy was a light sleeper under normal circumstances, he didn't even _have_ to sleep, he just chose to whenever he did - so the fact he was so hard to wake up right now made Lily worrisome. Standing up, she went to the bedside table, rummaging through a duffle bag looking for a blood bag of some sort to see if she could wake him up with some fuel.

Tulip heard her groan, "What?" She asked, "I can't find any blood bags." Lily huffed, walking towards the small bathroom attached to the bedroom. "Well," Tulip said loud enough to Lily to still hear her, "I guess second best is some whiskey, I'm sure there's some layin' around here somewhe-" Tulip was caught off guard when Lily had walked out with a small slice on her finger - she'd used a razor to make a small cut at the tip. Lily had barely gotten her finger close to Cassidy's face before he took a sharp inhale in and his entire body shook as he woke up.

Both Tulip and Lily jolted back in surprise at how quickly Cassidy became awake again, his eyes fluttering as they adjusted to around him. "Thank fuck." Tulip sighed, pulling Cassidy to urge him to stand. The vehicles they'd heard approaching had arrived on the property, "Let's go." Tulip urged.


	16. Potential

Wow, I am really pumping these chapters out now. BLESS all y'all who have been reviewing you're literally the encouragement I need to know that writing this is for good reason, I'm happy to be of some entertainment right now! I miss this show so much.. in a way writing this fic helps sustain the hole in my heart for the tv series... I'm getting more and more excited for the future of this fic. :)

* * *

There was no time to sit around and chat about what Lily was just able to do. Soon, the Boyd's rolled in with a few vehicles - the perfect distraction so Jesse could get a private moment with Herr Starr, and Jesse had told them they had to do the job of keeping it going long enough to keep Jody and TC occupied.

When they all got out to the middle of the property, the Boyd's had three vehicles on the other side of the fence of Angelville, announcing over a PA system they had attached to one of the cars was a man's voice, "Madame Boyd's got a message for Jesse L'Angelle." Soon after, there was a loud boom, a canon of some sort shot something and it landed a few feet from Jody, TC, Cassidy, Lily and Tulip.

"Wot the Hell is that!?" Cassidy yelled in surprise. It was a smokey mess, but you could see the back end of what looked like an animal. "Dat's a goat." TC proclaimed simply, seemingly unphased. Jody leaned towards Lily, Cassidy and Tulip, "Voodoo Telegram." He explained. Cassidy's brow scrunched as he stood under his umbrella, "Voodoo- wot!?" He asked again, still confused as before.

The engines a ways away from all of them revved as the Boyd crew began rolling out, "Ah," Jody said, lowering his gun slightly, "Looks like all's they wanted was to send us a message." He turned his back to where the Boyd crew had begun leaving from, TC following Jody towards the goat carcass embedded in the ground.

Lily, Tulip and Cassidy exchanged glances briefly, noticing Jesse only just entering the house now. They needed more time. Without thinking twice, Cassidy grabbed a large gun that had been sitting in front of him on a table and pulled the trigger, sending a giant bullet flying into the air and eventually landing on top of one of the Boyd's cars. "What the!-" Jody yelled at Cassidy, turning back towards the Boyd's direction as their vehicles came to a screeching halt before turning and coming back towards Angelville. Jody grunted, sprinting forward again as he took cover behind a large barrel, TC following right behind.

They all got ready, each of them with a gun in hand as they waited for the shoot out to begin. "This is it." Tulip said, adjusting her grip on the gun in her hands, "Here we go."

It was a crazy blur of bullets and commotion - after a while a bullet finally hit one of them, and unfortunately for him, it was Cassidy.

The Boyd's were satisfied that they'd gotten a hit, so they were quick to pack up and turn around before things got more ugly. "Shit." Lily groaned, looking back at Cassidy on the ground. Noticing TC and Jody making their way over, Lily realized she had to do a little better at not seeming so nonchalant about Cassidy being shot, "I mean, **shit**!" She yelled with more panic in her voice. "Yea," Cassidy groaned quietly, "That sounds better." He pouted.

"You alright?" Tulip asked, not just for the sake of looking worried in front of TC and Jody, but because it looked like a painful wound. Cassidy winced from the ground, holding his head up a bit to look down at the hole in his chest/shoulder area before flopping his head back down to the ground, "Yeh." He groaned. Lily held her hand out to his good arm, "Come on." She urged, "Let's get you inside."

"You guys have anything for a bullet wound like this?" Lily asked, looking to Jody and TC, "Yea." Jody bellowed, "You gotta wound of any kind TC's the man ya want."

Lily raised her eyebrows unintentionally, doubting that TC would be the man she wanted for any kind of wound, but this was Angelville and they needed to keep the men distracted as long as they could for Jesse's sake. "Where to then?" Lily asked with Cassidy's good arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Oh," TC said with an excited step to his jaunt, "I'll go out to my shed and get a couplas stuffs. You just go get 'im nice and all comfortable-like in your bedroom. Meet ya up there."

Lily looked at Tulip, trading a silent message that Lily would distract TC and Tulip should keep with Jody. Tulip turned, grabbing at one of the guns TC had been holding, making conversation with Jody about it as Lily had Cassidy groaning extra dramatically in her ear as she helped him into the house.

When they got into the bedroom, Lily helped Cassidy sit on the bed. "You alright?" She asked in a tone that was more genuine than the false sense of worry she'd had turned on in high gear in front of Jody and TC. "Yeah." Cassidy said honestly, sure, it hurt like a bitch but he'd been through worse, "Jus happy it was me who wore it."

Raising her eyebrows as she rushed into the washroom to grab a towel she huffed, "No shit." She agreed, laying the towel down on the bed that Cassidy sat on. Carefully, Lily placed an arm on his shoulder carefully, bending around him to see if it went clean through. He knew what she was looking for, "It didn't go through." He stated, knowing the difference between a clear through shot in him and one that stuck inside. Lily huffed, urging him to lay down over top of the towel she'd placed over the bed.

As he laid back, he took his sunglasses off, rubbing his eyes with the hand of the arm that wasn't affected by the wound, "It'll either push it all out when I heal, or it'll jus stay in my body." He groaned, "Already set metal detectors off with all the other things that've been stuck inside me, wot's one more thing gonna do."

Lily's brow was scrunched, "Hm." She stated, "Do you have any blood bags around by the way?" He moved his hand off his eyes and looked up to her as she continued, "I was trying to find some earlier when we were trying to wake you up and couldn't find any." He shook his head slightly, "Jus one more, but I was hopin' to keep it handy in case of emergency, y'know?" Lily nodded, walking towards the window to see TC heading back towards the house with an abundance of things in his arms.

Cassidy remembered what had woke him up from the slumber Lily had put him into, the distinct smell he knew well enough to haunt him nearly every day - her blood.

"Wot was that? That y'did earlier?" Cassidy asked, "Thought y'were supposed to just put me out." Lily was already shaking her head, still looking out the window, "I don't know. That didn't happen with TC." She said. "Hm." Cassidy hummed. Lily looked towards him, his eyes moving as she could see he was thinking eternally. She was curious herself, so she moved to the bed and sat at his side, "Was that a dream? Was- was it somewhere you recognized?" She asked.

"It was a memory." Cassidy stated, looking back up at her before peering back down at his wound on his chest, "Haven't thought about that day in ages..." He groaned quietly.

Surprised, Lily found herself sitting more upright, "I didn't mean to pry into your mind like that." She said softly, "I don't know what I'm doing." Cassidy pressed his lips together, "Nah," He groveled, "I know. Not yer fault." Lily could see he was struggling internally, but so was she.

Lily took a deep breath in, mostly out of stress, but when she realized how heavy the scent of Cassidy's blood was, she found her mouth watering and her head begin to spin slightly. She swallowed, her eyes pinned to his blood soaked shirt, "Let's clean this up."

He hadn't said anything as he helped get his shirt off, the blood flowing slowly out of the bullet wound, she could see his eyes still moving, full of busy thoughts.

She assumed his mind was on the memory they'd just relived together earlier, and she remembered what he had looked like in that memory - standing in the sun, glowing with health and radiance, his eyes were crystal blue grey.. "You were still human." Lily blurted, almost like word vomit. Softly, she moved the wet cloth around the wound and held it down in hopes to stop the flow of blood, "Which means it was..." "1918." Cassidy answered before she had to do the math herself, "September 5th, 1918." Cassidy specified, "My brother Bill's birthday." Lily was relieved when she saw Cassidy smirk and let out a soft laugh through his nose, "Hmph. Two of us got into it that day." He reminisced.

Lily remembered there had been someone else approaching them in the memory, "Was that person calling your name your brother?" She asked, "Bill?" She specified.

"Yea." Cassidy said, remembering his voice, "It was."

"I got scared." Lily admitted quickly, "I was a bit consumed in trying to figure out what was happening and I was worried I'd lose control. So I focused on what it was that I was supposed to be doing and put you to sleep." Cassidy laughed softly, "I mean after yer dream goin' arseways the way it did the other night can't say I blame ye fer that." Lily raised her brow, "No shit." She sighed. He looked at her and she looked at him, thankful for the inviting eyes he had on, "Did anything happen for you after?" Lily asked. Cassidy shook his head, "No." He said, "One second we're standin' there. Next second, I was awake."

"Hm." Lily hummed curiously.

"I mean," Cassidy continued, "When I woke up, my head n'ass hurt a whole lot, but I figured it was likely the fact I was layin' on the ground n'I took a fall on my way out, like." Lily mustered up enough in her to laugh feebly, "Sorry. Tulip tried to break your fall but didn't do a great job at it, obviously.. not that I was on the ball about it, either." She groaned apologetically.

Cassidy smiled, before his mind moved to another question, "Y'said it didn't happen with TC." He stated, to which Lily shook her head, "No." "Hm." Cassidy hummed curiously like she had been, seeming to be trying to figure it all out with her as well. It had helped her to talk about her dream the other night, so he was glad to investigate aloud with her.

"Well this is mind, stuff, right?" Cassidy suggested, "Maybe it's somethin' to do with knowin' me better than TC. Or maybe cause I was expectin' it n'he wasn't?"

Lily grabbed a new cloth and threw the one covered in blood to the floor, "Maybe." She stated, wiping the area around Cassidy's wound, "I also wasn't touching TC... and _another_ thing is with TC, I wasn't tired after, but with you, I feel like I almost put _myself_ to sleep. It drained me - energy wise. " They silently thought about that. Cassidy had been holding Lily's hands when she'd tried the same thing on him that she had with TC. Neither of them had come to a conclusion why it had happened, there wasn't enough to go off of to be making definite reasoning - the only way Lily would know was with more experience.

Cassidy looked to his side, Lily's hands holding the cloth tight to his wound as he looked at her face. He thought about the craziness of everything involving Lily, the reaction their blood had on one another, the insane amount Lily had changed from the stubborn cold hearted and closed book type of person she had been when they first met, to now, the person who relied on him for many things, the newest being her self-discovery of whatever supernatural thing it was that consumed her. Lily had surprised him more than anyone in the world ever had - whether it was blowing down an entire building like she did to the Beneke headquarters, her electric attraction to him, being a pro-con artist, her intelligence with many things, that including weaponry and otherwise - or even now with her inner power she processed, bringing him back to living a memory clear as day. He'd never imagined feeling that day so real again.

Cassidy laughed seemingly out of nowhere. "What?" Lily asked. He sighed, "Nothin', jus crazy to me after all these years of me bein' on this planet, yer still 'ere surprisin' me all angles."

"Well imagine being me and not knowing what was going on inside of me my whole fucking life." She sighed, "Jesse says I've got potential, but I don't even know what I'm fucking doing. You say I'm surprising you? Imagine suddenly seeing your dead mother everywhere? Hmph." Lily let out a feeble chuckle, "Talk about _surprising_."

Lily looked back at him, expecting a smile back at her, but instead she noticed his eyes a little more red suddenly, and she could see he was fighting with emotions brewing inside of him. Her smile faded slightly and she worried what was happening in his mind. "Cass, I'm sorry to have brought up that memory." She apologized again, "I didn't mean to invade like that." Lily said honestly.

As he shook his head, Cassidy took a deep breath. His voice was strained as he fought back at the lump hurting inside his throat, "I could _feel_ the sun... on me." He whispered, "Never thought I'd know that feelin' again." Not knowing what to say back, Lily just kept still, her eyes dropping back down to her hands that held the cloth to Cassidy. Lily had never thought about how Cassidy had felt in the moment of reliving the memory, her mind was stuck on his appearance, not the experience he had. She hadn't upset him by invading his privacy, she'd made him feel something special. His voice broke her internal train of thought, "I think Jesse's right." He cleared his throat, "I think that says somethin' about yer potential." He said, "Bein' able to do somethin' impossible like that."

With a flutter in her stomach, Lily sighed, "Well, as long as things are going Jesse's way right now, we'll be out of here soon." She said with an abundance of positivity, "And if you'll let me use you to practice we can try and do it again if you're up for it?" She asked, leaning into him a bit more, "Promise I won't let you fall on your ass next time."

Lily was relieved to see him smile, "Deal." He agreed. She kept her smile on, looking into his eyes again, "You gonna be OK when shit goes down soon?" Cassidy nodded, "Besides, with Genesis, we'll likely jus be spectatin'."

Raising her brows, Lily let out a laugh, "Yea." Soon what was left of Jesse and Lily's family would be dead, the both of them realized that, and there were no mixed emotions - just the hope to soon feel relief.

"Bill.." Lily repeated aloud. "Wot?" Cassidy asked quickly, finding himself wondering a brief moment if she'd been able to see something about him like she did with her mom. Cassidy felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of having contact with his brother. Lily looked to Cassidy with a curious streak in her eyes, "That's the name you used when we went out that one night back in New Orleans..." He felt himself relax, realizing what she was talking about right away as she continued as if to have to jog his memory, "..That underground betting club... where you won that arm wrestling contest and we left there leaving a total blood bath." She said as if it wasn't as crazy of a scenario as it had been.

She watched his mouth twitch slightly, raising his brow just a bit, "Oh." He said, as if it only just hit him in that moment, "Y'mean the night you did cocaine." Lily's eyes flashed wide to him, and she felt mortifying embarrassment flow through her, "What? I did- Cassidy!" She hissed. She'd hoped to forget about accidently taking a few puffs of one of Cassidy's cigarettes that night - he'd told her that he'd laced the cigarettes with cocaine only after he had discovered she'd helped herself to them. As the moment replayed in her head, Lily felt her cheeks get hot as she groaned. Unable to refrain from letting the laugh escape his lips, she watched his grin grow wider at the sheer enjoyment of her reaction,"Did you," He dragged, "Or did you _not_ smoke one of my cocopuffs?" He teased.

Lily sighed hopelessly, waving her head away from facing him, "Oh my god."

"Well then," Cassidy sang, ignoring the fact she hadn't answered his question, "Y'can't say you didn't do coke that night- ah!" He gasped sharply, feeling her pressing onto his wound noticeably harder, "Ah! Fuck!" He cursed, chuckling a bit as he did, "Enough!" Lily smirked, "Ya, _that_ night." She scoffed, "Jackass."

With an unamused look at her face, she leaned closer to him again, "I was _saying.." _She dragged, "You used your brother's name that night as your cover name." She stated, trying to bring the conversation back to what she originally intended it to be. It was endearing in many ways - and also a bit sad. But it showed Lily that Cassidy still thought about his brother, and maybe the rest of his family. She made a mental note to go out of her way to hug Jesse later - after Angelville was burnt to the ground, of course.

Cassidy was about to speak, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to say first. A million things filled his mind, but most of him just wanted to kiss her instead of going on about the memories of his dead brother, "Kiss me." He said. She was more than happy to comply with that request, but instead, as she leaned in towards him, Cassidy saw her jolt in alarm. He felt the tension in her immediately, finding himself sitting up with her. Her heart was in her throat and she felt panic consume her - then, there was a gunshot. The panic hadn't originated in her, "Jesse." Lily said, "Oh, fuck." She jumped up to her feet.

"Where are you goin'?" Cassidy asked, rushing to catch up to her, "Wot's happenin'?!" He asked. Lily ran down the stairs, Cassidy close behind her, "I don't know!" She shrieked, "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Lily ran to the front door of the house, practically bursting it down on her way out as she moved towards the inward pull inside of her. The sun was beaming down and soon Lily would be out in the open area where Cassidy couldn't chase her out of - and all he had on was a pair of jeans. His eyes quickly scoured how far the shade line went out from the overhang of the house, "Wait!" Cassidy yelled, lunging forward and grabbing her with both his good and bad arm, pushing through the pain it took to hold onto her, "Wait." He instructed.

Lily listened to Cassidy and stopped in her tracks just barely out the front door of the house. Cassidy could feel Lily's quick paced breaths matching to her heartbeat, her eyes frantically searching down the long driveway leading into Angelville. There was a fleet of white, sleek vehicles peeling away. The dust that rose from the dry, dusty road clouded the area, making it impossible to make anything out. The sound of the engines from the vehicle diminished quickly and soon after, Cassidy noticed Lily begin holding her breath as she stared into the hazy mess.

"Can you hear anything?" She asked Cassidy, who nodded right away, "Jesse. And Tulip, I'm pretty sure."

Suddenly, a wave of anger surged through Lily, "Pretty sure?" She hissed impatiently, worried more than anything. Cassidy shook his head, his arms wrapped around her tight as he feared what might happen if he let her run, "She's not talking." Cassidy explained, "Jesse's talking to her."

"Is she alright?" Lily quickly asked, "Is he alright?"

Cassidy listened intently...

_"Get out of here!" Jesse hissed quietly, "You need to get you and Cass out of here, now!"_

_"I'm not leaving you, Jesse!" Tulip spat back, her voice cracking with raw emotion, "I already told you that! And don't ask me again!"_

With his eyes fluttering as he began to process the conversation Jesse and Tulip were having a ways away. He felt his stomach drop at the realization that the plan to get Genesis back must have failed if Jesse was urging Tulip and Cassidy to leave Angelville - but Tulip was right. There was no way she would leave Jesse's side just as Cassidy wouldn't leave Lily's.

"Let's go inside." Cassidy said calmly to Lily, "C'mon." He pleaded, hoping she would listen to him without a fight. But inside Lily, Jesse's emotions were taking her over and clouding her judgement. The annoyance she felt consumed her more and more, "Agh!" She growled, squirming in Cassidy's arms, "What the Hell's going on?!" Lily yelled loudly, her voice echoing out into the long, never-ending driveway.

Madame L'Angelle's voice came from nowhere, "I was about to ask the same thing." She hissed. Lily and Cassidy turned their heads to the side they'd heard her from, Jody and TC standing at her side as Madame L'Angelle sat in her wheelchair. Lily did her best to keep a stone face, looking back to the driveway in front of them. Her heart began pacing faster, hoping her brother would burst through the dark cloud, using Genesis to put an end to it all. When nothing happened, she pushed at Cassidy, "Let go of me!" She yelled angrily at Cassidy, who was startled by the harshness of her voice, as he unwillingly let his arms around her drop, watching her run away from him and towards the dusty, clouded mess that consumed Jesse and Tulip.

Cassidy leaned back as if to go inside to get something to cover him to go after her, but he worried too much to take his eyes off of her for a second.

Marie L'Angelle yelled the loudest any of them had heard from her yet, "**Get back here!**" Her blood curdling voice screeched directly to Lily, who didn't dare stop. Her grandmother yelled again, "I don't know what it is you two ungrateful shits think you are up to, but you best get your asses back here_ this instant_!" The words motivated Lily to run even faster, just hoping her brother to appear and use Genesis to finally put an end to this terrible moment.

Instead, she felt as if she ran into a brick wall. Her throat closed and her knees buckled.

With his eyes glued to Lily, Cassidy felt his heart drop when she collapsed to the ground. Instinctually, he began moving towards her quickly, but it was as if a wall hit him as the sun blasted down, scorching his skin. Cassidy winced loudly, jumping backwards out of the sun and rushing back to the shade a few feet behind him. There was no way for him to get to her without being a giant ball of fire - which wasn't much help, even if he _was_ able to make it to her before turning into a pile of ash.

Cassidy looked towards Madame L'Angelle. With her mouth twisting back and forth and her brows scrunched so low her eyes were barely visible, he could see a handkerchief in the grasp of her boney hands. Madame L'Angelle tugged on it and mangled it with pulsating fury, and as she did, Cassidy could see Lily practically mimic the motions happening to the fabric in her grandmother's hand. Feeling the overwhelming emotions of everything to do with rage, natural instinct took over, his mouth watered as he prepared to kill. Cassidy moved as quick as it was possible for him, which was equal to lightning given the amount of rage that filled him. In one motion, he lunged himself all the way towards Madame L'Angelle, knocking her over in her wheelchair.

Lily and Jesse simultaneously gasped for air, "Jesse!" Lily choked, "Jesse! Genesis... use..."

It didn't take long for Lily to realize that Jesse's plan hadn't worked the way he'd intended, since Genesis was nowhere to be found. As she struggled to catch her breath, Lily was surprised when Tulip was at her side, Jesse stumbling at Tulip's opposite side, a gun in one hand, "Lily!" Tulip said worryingly, "Ah, shit, Lily. Fuck. _Fuck_!" Tulip swore, making the realization that things were not going according to their plan even more obvious.

They all looked up to the whirlwind of action happening in front of the house. TC was helping Madame L'Angelle get back up while Cassidy was putting up a fight against Jody, sparing no expense of showing his supernatural capabilities of a vampire. The sun grazed him multiple times, and parts of him were up in smoke.

TC ran off with Madame L'Angelle to safety, and soon the Custer's felt their throats begin to close again. Staring helplessly, Tulip watched the both of them fall to the ground on either side of her, unwilling tears forming in her eyes as she felt entirely helpless, "No, no, no.." She begged, "Stop!" Tulip yelled out to the house, "Stop it! Stop it!" There was a loud crash as Cassidy and Jody kept at their heavy battle.

Tulip looked down to Jesse, who used every bit of will he had to cling onto his sister on the ground at his side. Jesse grasped to his sister, his mouth pressed directly against her ear, "Don't... " He choked out, "let them... know..." He paused, his face going from red to purple as their air supply became less and less, "..we know about Cass... no matter ... wh-" The both of them were trembling, and not long after, in the exact same moment, both Lily and Jesse lost consciousness - their bodies going limp in unison. Tulip was left alone, screaming at the top of her lungs - her shouts echoed throughout the vast area of Angelville - a true Hell, unhinged from anything worldly, with no one to hear or care for Tulip's powerless call.


	17. The Pit

When Lily came back to consciousness, she thought she was dead. All she saw was darkness. Her eyes were open, she thought, but it was just black. She closed her eyes - darkness. She opened her eyes - darkness. With a hand she reached up to her face to check that her eyeballs were still in her head. They were, so that was a good start. Next, she noticed the cold. With her mind as foggy as it was she pieced together what little she knew - Wherever she was laying, it was in complete darkness and it was cold.

With her hand moving slowly around her head, the pounding inside of her brain suddenly became more apparent. Lily made a mental note to herself to make sure to research how many times a person could be choked unconscious before serious brain damage could occur.

Flashes of what happened before she'd been choked out replayed in her mind. She remembered running, she remembered the feeling of worry and anger, she remembered Cassidy..

_Cassidy._

Her heart dropped.

He had been in a full blown altercation with Jody, Lily remembered...

Too scared to make noise, Lily sat upright slowly. When she groaned quietly, the sound of her own groan alarmed her, realizing that it had directly bounced off a wall. Wherever she was, it was a confined space. Soon, she was able to muster up the courage to reach around, her hands feeling about as she lifted them above her to stand upright. She couldn't reach the top of whatever she was in, but she could touch all four walls around her without moving hardly at all and it seemed that every piece was made out of cold stone. There was clearly no door around her, so she had to assume it was above her reach.

Sitting back down again on the cold and damp floor, she sighed, her mind hazy as she tried her best to focus on staying calm and not focusing on the what-ifs.

She remembered her brother choking out the words to her before they'd passed out, _"Don't let them know..." _Lily groaned, struggling to remember his exact words. Sitting cross legged with her head in her hands, she spent several minutes trying to recollect so many things. Finally, she was able to piece it together.

_Don't let them know that we know about Cass. _

_No matter what._

Lily wasn't sure how much time passed in the pitch back pit she was trapped in, but eventually, she was beginning to get less and less nervous and more squirrelly. "Hey!" She yelled, her voice bouncing back at full volume directly back at her, "Hey!" She yelled louder, not convinced her voice was projecting out of the tiny space very much, if at all. With no luck, no one came to her calls. Deflated, she sat back down on the freezing stone floor, trying to keep her mind at ease.

She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since she woke up, but she knew it felt like it had been forever, when suddenly, there was a thunderous noise from above. It took Lily longer than expected to figure out it had been footsteps, but then again, these footsteps were not the average person. The sound of various clinks and clanks came from above her, recognizing quickly that it had to have been a good amount of locks on the door. Quickly, Lily stood upright on her feet. Just barely above Lily's reach, the ceiling of the enclosure she was in opened up entirely. It was still dark, but there was a dim bit of light that caught her eye, causing her to be able to see the outline of the person who stood above her - who was unmistakably Jody.

With her throat dry, Lily kept her mouth shut, waiting for him to speak first. Instead of words, Lily was greeted with a blinding flashlight to her. Instantly, she shielded her eyes, "Hm." Jody groaned as he examined her. Lily was able to look down, getting a good glimpse of her surroundings - which wasn't much. She was in a small, square concrete pit about six or seven feet under the ground.

"You knew." Jody asked the question in an intimidating tone that was more of a statement. Jody seemed to be in his area of expertise in the moment, the upper hand with a sick twist - but Lily had her fair share of interrogations and she knew how to handle herself. With her eyes squinted, still sensitive from the light, she looked up at Jody, only seeing the blinding sunburst pattern from the flashlight Jody held on her, "What?" Lily asked. With a disgruntled groan, Jody bent over, grabbing the swinging door, "Reckon you could use some more time in here then." He grunted bitterly, his hand motioning to close it again. "No." Lily choked out feebly, "Please." She begged, and regardless of how little she could see in the darkness, she could sense the pleasure it gave Jody when she pleaded the way she just had. He was beaming with satisfaction as she practically melted into a puddle of helplessness in the ground underneath him.

"Admit it then." Jody tested, "Admit you knew about him."

With her face scrunching a bit more, Lily shook her head one way, "Jody, I don't know what you're talking-" Before Lily could finish her sentence, Jody slammed the door shut, the reverse of the sound she'd just heard began and he locked it shut again. With a sigh, Lily slumped back down to the ground. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy feat, but she had to listen to Jesse's words. They couldn't have the slightest suspicion that they were aware Cassidy was a vampire all along.

Lily laid there, knowing it would be a while before she got out of there, but she had to stay strong. She took a deep breath in, and suddenly, her heart skipped a beat. She smelt Cassidy's blood. Her mind raced, she had checked every inch of the tiny space she was in, she knew she was alone in there. Slowly, she sat up, following the scent until her face hit the ground where she was laying. On the cold, damp floor was the faint trace of Cassidy's blood. Trying desperatly to understand, Lily thought hard. The last she'd been with Cassidy he had her grasped in his arms, urging her not to run out towards where Jesse and Tulip had been.

He'd been shirtless, with a fresh, open bullet wound in his chest. Some of his blood must've gotten on her when he was holding her back as tight as he was. Suddenly, she realized - taking her shirt off and pressing her nose up to the back side of it. There it was - the origin of the scent. She breathed it in, and it brought her a sense like no other. The moisture from the floor must've caused it to liquify instead of dry up to the fabric.

Lily pressed the shirt up to her mouth and squeezed whatever she could onto her tongue. It was gritty from the dirt on the ground and nothing like what she was used to, but it was enough to keep her reliance going - she hoped.

* * *

The routine of Jody coming out continued for three days, but in the pit in the ground, Lily had no sense of time. Each time Jody would come to interrogate, she kept denying. Each time, her will was becoming weaker, the claustrophobia and darkness wearing away at her, but she knew that it was a small price to pay for what could possibly happen to any of them if she'd admitted the truth.

Inside the house, Jody and TC were conversing with Madame L'Angelle, "She's been in there for almost three days." Jody grumbled to Madame L'Angelle, "Hasn't said a peep." Madame L'Anglelle's mouth twisted, "Hm." She growled, "She'll speak. Wait." She ordered. She knew the pit Lily was in would wear her mentality down - the pit made anyone admit _anything_ eventually, just to be able to get out of there. It was amazing how many confessions could come out of a concrete hole in the ground.

Back in the pit, Lily's throat was sore from lack of water. She'd been talking to herself a lot, unknowingly, and by now, she hardly had a voice left. She was beyond thirsty, imagining how much water she could drink if given the opportunity. With her eyes closed, she winced, trying to pry her mind away from the idea of water. The sound of her stomach growling was constant.

She'd been so weak and exhausted that she'd stopped feeling anything that Jesse might have been. Part of her wondered if Jesse was dead for a while, until she felt the emotions brewing in her. She wasn't sure if any of the pain in her body was coming from the second hand feeling their blood bond had seemed to provide for them, but at least she knew Jesse was still alive. Lily lifted her one arm feebly up to her chest - she was so sore. The next time Jody came out she had to sell the performance if she had a hope of making it out. Luckily, she'd been able to keep up with the reliance she had for Cassidy's blood - though it was diluted and not the same as what she was used to from him. The shirt she'd worn with the faint remnant of his blood was depleted, and she wasn't convinced she could last long without a proper dose of it, either.

When Jody opened the door again, Lily laid there for a moment before slowly bringing herself to her knees, "Fine." Lily whispered, "Fine, yes I knew. I knew about him." With content filling him, Jody chuckled, "Hmph." He grinned, looking down on her, "Tell me exactly."

Lily put on the full blown hysterics, which wasn't too difficult considering she was losing her mind by now and she had many reasons to be crying at this point, "I _knew_ Jesse was planning on crossing gran'ma." She sobbed, "I-I'm sorry, Jody, I'm sorry!" She gasped between sobs, struggling to catch her breath, "Tell gran'ma I'm sorry. I'll do _anything_, I'll do **anything** just let me out of here _please_..."

Obviously, that wasn't what Jody was referring to. Jody had been talking about Cassidy being a vampire, which of course Lily knew, but she had to make him believe she was confessing to something else, and that she hadn't the slightest clue about Cassidy being a vampire. "That's not what I'm talkin' about." Jody groaned. Lily looked up, her brow furrowing, "What?" She gasped, "Jody, please, I don't know what else Jesse's done. I just knew he wanted to get out of here. That's it." Lily sobbed, "That's it." She keeled over onto the ground of the pit and continued crying, knowing just how much Jody got off on seeing her in such a vulnerable position.

Lily was caught off guard with a thunk noise in front of her. When she looked up, she could see the faint outline of a ladder placed down in front of her. It took everything in her to get on her feet and use what little strength she had to get up to where Jody stood, towering over her as she sniffled. He grabbed onto her firmly, and she worried if he squeezed any tighter that her arm may break. He pulled her towards the outside of whatever building it was they were in, and when he opened the door, the sun was extremely blinding. Lily couldn't handle the brightness, after days in the dark pit, it was impossible for her eyes to adjust. Luckily Jody was dragging her in the direction of where they were going. Lily found herself laughing unwillingly, out of a mixture of feelings.

Jody had tried to break her, and it didn't work. She won. More tears streamed down her face, this time for relief of fresh air and freedom from the horrifying place she'd been trapped in, but also dread. She worried what had happened to Tulip. To Jesse. But most of all, due to the sake of her life, Cassidy. Her bones ached and her body felt like it was going to explode and every part of her worried that if Cassidy was dead then soon, she would be too.

Before she knew it they were inside and Jody had tossed Lily down on the ground in the living room where Madame L'Angelle was sitting. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Her gran'ma demanded. With her eyes adjusting better now that they were inside, Lily slumped over in a ball of shame, speaking into the musty smelling floorboards, "I'm sorry gran'ma. I'm sorry we tried to run away." Lily whined. Curiously, Marie L'Angelle looked up to Jody who stood at Lily's side, Jody shook his head, "She doesn't know nothin'." He stated.

Lily used all the courage she had and looked up to her gran'ma, tears streaming down her face as she did her best to seem more broken than she really was. She used the worry inside of her for the well being of Tulip, Cassidy and Jesse as fuel to help her seem more emotional, and it worked. Her grandmother looked down on her, her lips pressed into a straight line. Inside, Madame L'Angelle found herself not sure whether Lily was being honest or not - but she was going to find out. Lily was weak, and vulnerable. Marie L'Angelle did what she had when she'd first been left alone with Lily, she honed into her.

This time was different, Lily knew what was happening. Lily groaned as she fought against it. She remembered the last time her grandmother had done this - when she'd pried into her mind. The door was beginning to open, but Lily wasn't going to let her grandmother step foot in. Jody watched the two of them in a silent battle, each of their bodies trembling as Madame L'Angelle tried to break the barrier Lily was struggling to keep up. It was torturous, Lily felt every bit of herself being stretched out as she tried desperately to cling onto what little control she still had before her grandmother broke in. Lily had been holding her breath, grunting in pain, it felt like she was on the brink of exploding, the tension was strong. Suddenly, like a light switch, the tensity was gone. Madame L'Angelle gasped, beyond outraged that her attempt had failed.

Lily barely had enough time to look back up at her grandmother when she got hit with an alarming slap against the face, sending her to fall on her side, "Clean yourself up, for fuck's sake." She hissed breathlessly at Lily, her hand that she'd used to just smack Lily sideways still in the air, "We're expecting a big crowd for opening night."

With her hand against the side of her burning face, Lily adjusted her jaw, worried she might've just lost a tooth from the brutal smack that her grandmother had landed on her. _Opening night?.._ Lily wondered, but before she could say a word, Jody had his hands on her again.

He clenched his massive hands around her shoulders, bringing her upstairs into the room she'd been staying in. Something told her she wouldn't find Cassidy in there, but she sure wished she would. Sure enough, the room was empty, and it also looked like it had been flipped upside down. Their belongings were strewn all over the place. Lily's heart skipped a beat thinking about her mother's notebook - but she remembered Cassidy had placed it in the hiding place in the wall they had originally found it in. "Your brother and his girl should be comin' back in here any minute." Jody bellowed, "So hurry up and get cleaned up cause we got a lot to do before tonight."

Lily turned to Jody, wanting to ask about ten different questions at once, but he slammed the door before she could. Not knowing what to do, Lily first searched for her phone - to no avail. She was covered in filth, she needed to rinse off at least. It was a brutal task to have a shower. Lily was so weak and so sore, and the water that ran was freezing cold, but she hardly noticed. She opened her mouth, letting the cold water from the shower head go down her dry throat. Eventually, she was able to get out and change, only to find TC in the bedroom when she came out of the bathroom.

"Hey there." TC said, chipper as always. With a heavy sigh, Lily pressed her lips into a straight line, "Is my brother around TC?" TC was busy moving all sorts of things around that he'd brought into the room, placing it all on the bed. "Little Jesse? He should be back any minute." TC picked up a container, bringing it over to Lily, "Here, drink this. You gotta get those electrolytes and fluids and all that good stuffs back up there." Lily didn't respond, grabbing at the bottle and not eager to be putting anything they were giving inside of her. TC handed her some pills, to which she grabbed, but didn't do anything with.

"Sorry bout the mess here, miss Marie told me and Jody to try and find anythin'." TC explained. Lily didn't move or say anything, simply swallowing a lump in her throat. TC raised his eyebrows, "Go on. Take that stuff." Lily looked at him, her eyes were dead compared to what he was used to seeing in her. Lily noticed the spark in TC diminish slightly, "Ah.." TC groaned, "Lady Lil." He sighed, "I know yous is hurtin' and all, but you won't get better til ya take somethin'."

With her eyes still low, and her voice a dark growl, Lily glared into TC, "Where are they, TC?" With another huff, TC shrugged his shoulders, "Little Jesse and his girl have been runnin' around gettin' stuff ready for the Tombs to open tonight." TC explained. Lily felt her throat tightening, it was good to know that her brother and Tulip were alive, but an awful twist in her stomach worried for what Cassidy's fate had been. Lily felt herself begin to shake, with fear and fury, "Cassidy." Lily stated slowly.

TC shook his head, "That's been taken care of, don't you worry about it." He assured with a smile. Lily felt her eyes well up and part of her worried that if she acted on impulse she'd kill TC with her bare hands in that moment. Her ears began to ring and she wondered if Cassidy was gone, then how long did she have left before her body shut down? TC's voice broke through the ringing in her ears just barely, "I believe ya, Lady Lil." TC sang, "I know you got a good heart. Like your momma did. I know you's wouldn't be with a monster like that." Lily felt the fire burning inside of her. The intense emotions were beginning to become too much to hold in - but she kept collected, still as stone. When Lily didn't respond, TC placed a hand on her arm, "Bet you're just heartbroken."

In an instant, Lily's eyes shot down to the hand TC had placed on her - the direct contact he was making to her, the fiery build up in her core. Her eyes shot up to his. She could see the instant TC felt scared, the redness in her eyes that TC didn't recognize in her pierced through him and suddenly, TC felt a chilling wave of terror consume his entirety - one he knew too well, one that he only felt with Madame L'Angelle. Before he knew it, with one deep breath, Lily was inside of him.

_This time, Lily had stepped into a vast space, it was cluttered and disorganized. Instead of searching the area, she closed her eyes and searched differently for what she was looking for. It was a quick blur as she rushed to see as much as possible - She saw the place that TC referred to as the Tombs, she saw a memory of Jesse when he was just a teenager with TC in the Tombs. She saw the horrifying display of brutal combat, a machine that people would sit in and have the souls sucked right out of them, her grandmother consuming each one as she became stronger and stronger._

_Then there was a flash... the Tombs were abandoned - Lily had passed through many years, Jesse was gone and Madame L'Angelle was having a massive fit. Her screams were like nails on a chalkboard. Madame L'Angelle wailed loudly - Lily got a look at her grandmother, who was obviously weaker. "You get it for me, God Damn It!" Marie L'Angelle yelled to TC and Jody, "Kill them all! I don't give a shit. But you get it for me, or else you're both dead!" She threatened. Lily watched as the next memory flooded in, Jody and TC had come back into the house with something wrapped up in a box, handing it over to Madame L'Angelle._

_She looked as if she was going to pass away any second, "This amulet's the only thing I got left without the Tombs." She coughed out feebly._

_"Jus put it on now, Miss Marie." TC sang, "There ya go. No one's gonna take it from you."_

_When TC helped Madame L'Angelle place the amulet around her neck, a large figure appeared behind her. Lily watched, breathlessly as the outline became more obvious to who it was - the Devil himself. With his horns grazing the ceiling above him, he reached around from the back of her grandmother and placed a hand over the amulet that was around her neck. The amulet glowed brightly, and Madame L'Angelle began reciting words, a foreign language that Lily couldn't understand. The Devil spoke in unison with her, their voices clashing in a terrifying harmony, sending a rush of fear through Lily. Suddenly, Lily became scared, she retracted herself, closing her eyes as she moved her mind away from the moment. She was relieved to see it had worked, bringing TC to an empty and blank space in his mind as he stared at her curiously. She latched her hands onto him, "Forget that I've been here." She commanded, "Now **sleep**."_

It had felt like Lily had been inside TC for an hour, but in reality, it had been just barely a minute. TC fell backward, landing on the bed as Lily caught herself from swaying back herself. She crouched down, incredibly lightheaded. She panted, trying to catch her breath as her heart raced. There was a loud bang, and Lily was relieved to see it was Jesse that had bursted through the bedroom door and not Jody. Her brother stood at the doorway, Tulip directly behind him. Their eyes were wide and her brother was breathless, "Lily." He said, worried at the sight and more importantly, at the emotions that he'd felt second hand from her.

Both Jesse and Tulip rushed to Lily, landing on their knees to be directly at her side, "What happened?" Jesse asked wrapping an arm around his sister, "What'd TC do?!" His eyes moved up to see TC knocked out on the bed, only assuming she had to defend herself against him. Little did he know how wrong he was. Lily took a deep breath, looking to her brother, her voice hoarse as she spoke, "Guess now's a good time to tell you I've been practicing like you asked."


	18. Reliance

Jesse, Tulip and Lily had been talking for several minutes. Lily stared at TC, who was out like a light on the bed she'd been sleeping in before her time in the pit - snoring loudly. Jesse had told Lily that Cassidy was alive and safe. Before Lily could ask anything to do with Cassidy, Jesse assured Lily that he'd tell her everything about Cassidy, but first, there were bigger and more important things to get Lily up to speed on before Jody came up to the room.

Jesse and Tulip had explained how Tulip had misinterpreted a vision she had back when she was dead, causing Jesse to lose the chance to get Genesis from the Grail - that was when Lily had run out towards them. Jesse had been doing as Gran'ma had instructed, getting the Tombs ready to get up and running again, Tulip tried to do damage control, feeling as awful as she did about messing up their chance for Jesse to get Genesis back, tracking down a woman named Madame Boyd, the leader of the Boyd clan - she tried to explain the situation the Custers were in, but she wasn't having any of it.

Lily had told them what she'd done to make sure that when she got out of the pit, that Gran'ma and Jody were to believe that all she was keeping secret was Jesse's plan to escape Angelville, and not saying a word about knowing anything about Cassidy. Lily told them what she was able to do to TC just moments before, and thankfully, Tulip had already told Jesse days ago about what Lily was capable of doing since she'd seen it first hand days ago when Lily tried it out on Cassidy.

"Here." Jesse urged, handing Lily a plate of food, "Get this in you. You gotta be beyond starving." Lily let the facts sit in her mind for a moment before she touched base again, "So," Lily whispered, turning her head back towards Tulip, "This vision you had when you were dead. It was God." Tulip and Jesse nodded, and her brother spoke, "We saw him, remember? In New Orleans. The dog suit." He specified.

Lily nodded slowly, vaguely remembering, but if she was being honest, it was hard to recollect. She grabbed the bowl of soup in front of her, beginning to sip on it as Jesse spoke, "When I was tellin' you guys that the Grail took me to meet the descendant of Jesus Christ. Well when I met him he was doodling pictures and stuff.. and there were lots of dog - _dalmatian_ \- pictures." Jesse explained, "When I left you guys at the apartment back in New Orleans, I'd pieced it all together, but I didn't do a good job at explaining it to you guys."

"You didn't explain shit all." Tulip corrected bitterly. Jesse raised his brows and bobbed his head side to side, "No, I didn't." He admitted. It was clear the two of them had done a lot of talking the last few days that Lily had been in the pit. "That's why we're sitting here talking everything out. We can't miss anything. Anyways," Jesse continued, "The important thing is every time God's appeared, it's been in this... dog suit. A _dalmation_ dog suit." He specified again.

"Same with my vision." Tulip added, "And I never knew any of that."

Lily looked back and forth from them, nodding slowly, taking a bite out of a soggy banana in front of her.

Tulip let out a long sigh, "I misread the vision completely." She groaned regretfully, repeating things that she'd already said minutes before but feeling really awful about it that she had to reiterate on it, "Really fucked things up for Jesse before he got Genesis." Lily stared at Tulip as she shook her head, her lips pressed tight a moment as her eyes welled up the slightest, "I meant to talk to you about this vision I had, and... and _ask_ you what you thought but things just got so fucked up, I never found the time."

Lily shook her head, "Tulip, these things are really hard to understand... sometimes _impossible_." Her tired voice croaked, "I don't blame you for misinterpreting it, and neither does Jesse." Lily stated, looking to her brother, who swung his head at Tulip and nodded. He had been really heated in the moment where things got messed up, but it was true - he couldn't blame Tulip.

It was Jesse's turn to ask from the facts Lily had presented, "You said when you were doing that thing with TC.." Jesse started, his brow narrowing as he stared into his sisters eyes, speaking in a quiet whisper, "You said you saw the Devil... doing something with gran'ma?" Lily nodded with a glass of water up to her mouth, placing the glass down with an exhale - it felt so good to quench her thirst, but at the same time, it felt like she couldn't drink enough water, "Yea. I couldn't make out what they were doing but it was a necklace... it was a... it was..." Lily's eyes scrunched as she tried to remember the word.

At the same time, Jesse and Lily said the word, "Amulet."

"Yea." Lily said after, "The amulet. I don't know what it was or what it does, I got out of there so fast." Tulip groaned from the wall she was leaning against near Lily's side, "Jesus Christ. First we're dealing with God, now we have to think about _Satan?_" She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, "Can our lives get any more fucked?" Jesse passed her a warning glance, telling her not to jinx things. Lily looked up to Tulip, "This woman you talked about... Madame... Boyd?" Lily asked, "As in.. the _Boyd's _kind of Boyd?"

Tulip nodded another sigh escaping her, "Another thing I fucked up." Jesse sighed, "To make a long story as short as possible, Tulip went to her behind my back to try to find a way to break the blood contract spell gran'ma had on us." Jesse shifted his weight, taking a deep breath, "Well, Madame Boyd fooled Tulip, obviously. Convinced her to try and kill gran'ma. Which Tulip did. She tried. Then we had to make the Boyd's believe that Tulip and gran'ma's died just to convince them that Sabina's plan worked." Lily interrupted, "Sabina?" Jesse pressed his lips together and nodded, "Madame Boyd. Her name's Sabina." Lily raised her brows, trying to keep up, "Anyways-" Jesse continued, a little impatient, "I convinced Jody and TC to let Tulip live - convinced them that Tulip would help us get more souls rather than just sucking one out of her. We robbed Sabina's soul bank." With his head dipping a little lower, Jesse blinked a few times, "Wasn't enough, though. And now gran'ma wants the Tombs open again so we can get more innocent people in here for her to suck the souls out of."

Lily nodded simply, her head spinning, "Jesus Christ. How long was I down there, a year?" She shook her head, swallowing the food in her mouth, "I can't believe I missed you dying _again_, Tulip."

They were all relieved when a feeble chuckle escaped them all together at once. Jesse looked up to his sister again. He leaned closer to her as she continued eating at the food in front of her. With a groan, Jesse sighed once again, reaching up and tilting Lily's head to the side as he examined the hand mark on the one side of her face, "Even **I **felt that one." Jesse said softly, "I came in as soon as I felt something going on with you. Knew they probably let you out of there."

Lily chewed at her food and rolled her eyes, "She got _real_ pissed when she tried to get into my head and I didn't let her." She stated. Jesse raised his brow, his hand still on his sister's face as he looked into her eyes, "Really?" Lily chewed at her food, nodding simply as she looked into her brother's eyes. With a sense of relief overwhelming him, Jesse exhaled - Lily was a good chance for a way for them to get an upper hand on their grandmother, regardless of the fact she didn't really know what she was doing, she was proving to be much stronger in many ways. As he examined how weak and tired his sister looked - being locked in the pit for days on end, starved in more ways than one - yet the fact was, she was able to resist the mental pry of their grandmother even in the diminished state she was in - and that said a lot.

"I'm sorry you ended up in there.." Jesse stated, "They knew throwing you in there would do worse for me than if I was in there instead. I know what it's like going through gran'ma's sick forms of punishment." Lily swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head, "Don't be sorry. Wasn't your fault, Jesse." She glanced to Tulip quickly before she looked back at her brother, "It was no one's fault." Lily assured. Finishing what was left for the food, Lily took a sharp breath in and held it, "Jesse.." She started, before exhaling, "Cassidy. Can we _please _talk about Cassidy." She whispered, "Where is he exactly? The Tombs?" Tulip felt her heart break for Lily, the helpless and heartbroken look on her face wasn't something Tulip was used to seeing on her.

Jesse stayed close to his sister, moving his hand to clasp into his other hand as he leaned in towards her. The memory of what happened just a couple of days ago raced through his mind...

**_Two Days Prior_**

_Cassidy was chained up underneath the house in Angelville. The first chance Jesse had, he'd gone down to him and unhooked him from the restraints that Jody and TC had set up, taking him outside. The whole time, neither of them said a word to each other. It was middle of the night and eventually they'd gotten to the end of the long, gravel driveway where the gate of Angelville stood. _

_Jesse threw a bag at Cassidy's feet, "Get outta here, Cassidy." He spat. With a disgruntled look on his face, Cassidy shook his head, "No, I shan't!" He barked back, to which Jesse skidded forward with a finger to his lips, "Shut your God damn mouth!" Jesse hissed, "You're lucky I even risked my ass getting you out of here while you still can."_

_With his face already turning red, Cassidy bit his tongue, trying his best to suppress his internal urge to yell, "I already told ye, I'm not leavin' here without-" "Lily's dead!" Jesse spat. His face was trembling, nearly purple as tears welled up in his eyes. Unwillingly, Cassidy felt his body jolt, not believing the words. Jesse's face switched from furious to mournful, his voice cracking with emotion, "She's dead, Cassidy." He repeated._

_Jesse stared down, hoping that he'd been convincing enough to send Cassidy away without question. He sniffled, wiping his sleeve quickly against his face as he took a sharp breath in, "Get out of here." He muttered, turning back to the way they'd come from. He hadn't heard footsteps behind him, but when he glanced back briefly, he'd seen the faint image of Cassidy's silhouette still standing at the end of the driveway._

_By the time Jesse had gotten back to the house. he couldn't see far enough down to know whether or not Cassidy was still standing there, but for the next two days - there hadn't been any trace of him, so obviously, it worked._

As Jesse remembered what he had to do days ago to ensure Cassidy made it out safely, he shook his head miserably. Behind him, Tulip fidgeted, knowing what lengths Jesse had to go to convince Cassidy to leave Angelville without looking back. "He's safe. Which is what's important." Jesse stated. Lily turned her head, her mouth dry as she choked the words out, "Out of Angelville?" She asked. Jesse nodded, "Out of Angelville." He assured - little did he know, that was not what Lily wanted to hear. With eyes that were dark and shameful, Jesse looked to his sister, "I promise, the first thing we do once we get out of here is go find him."

Lily felt her eyes begin to tear up, "Um-" She choked out. Tulip couldn't stand seeing the sudden brokenness overwhelm Lily, she leaned over to Lily, wrapping an arm around her, "Listen, we're gonna make sure we get to him as soon as we get outta here. Jesse's already got another plan sorted out." As tears streamed down Lily's face, she exhaled, her breath choppy, "I-" She didn't know where to start. Jesse hadn't a clue on Lily's reliance for Cassidy's blood, but Tulip did. Had she forgotten? "Lily-" Jesse cooed, "I'm sorry, It wasn't safe for him here. They were gonna kill him."

Lily looked up to her brother, "Jesse-" She choked out, "I'm gonna die without him." With his heart breaking for her loneliness, Jesse huffed grabbing onto his sister with emotional support - but Tulip suddenly felt an alarming realization take over her entire body once she heard the words come out of Lily's mouth. Slowly, she released her arm from around Lily, looking down on her. "What?" Jesse asked, looking up in confusion to the look of terror on Tulip's face. "Oh no.." Tulip shook her head, "Fucking shit!" She spat, "Oh no, Lily, I forgot all about that." Tulip clenched her head with her hands, squinting her eyes in frustration, "There's just so much shit to worry about, I'd completely forgotten." Jesse sat upright, "Forgot about what!?" He asked with sudden distress.

Tulip dropped her arms to her side, "Lily needs a dose of Cassidy's blood every day to survive." She stated. With his brow crinkled, Jesse leaned his head back, "What?" He rasped. "Listen," Tulip said hurriedly, "Back in Worthington, remember when we saw her guzzle back a bunch of his blood after her friend there died when Cassidy tried to save him?" Jesse nodded quickly, "Yea?" How could he forget, it was gruesome to watch, and after that Lily had blown up an entire building in the world's biggest tantrum. "Well," Tulip continued, "We think after that, her body built up a kind of... _reliance_, I guess, to Cassidy's blood. So she's been taking it every day or two or somethin' to keep up with it and make sure it doesn't kill her-" As Tulip went on, Lily felt her heartbeat in her ears, and it was hard to make out everything Tulip was saying, but she was thankful she was bringing her brother up to speed.

Inside, Lily was panicking. The back and forth banter of her brother and Tulip sounding almost like it was in the back of her mind. Lily could hear Jesse asking her questions every now and again, but she wasn't able to respond with the pace her mind was racing. Slowly, she turned her head towards the bathroom, seeing the shirt she had been wearing in the pit, it had been stained with Cassidy's blood. When she was in the pit, she sucked whatever she could out of it, what was left was useless. With her head moving the other way she looked to the bed in the room - glad to see that beside TC, there was still the towel and rags she'd placed down when she had first brought Cassidy into the room. She remembered cleaning it up and plugging Cassidy's oozing wound the best she could before shit had gone sideways. There was a lot of his blood in the bedroom - but was dried up, three day old blood going to work? And for how long could she last what was left?...

Or could she use it for something else?

On that thought, Lily turned her head to the dresser - the drawers were rifled through, but it hadn't been moved. She thought about her mother's notebook she'd studied as much as possible before she'd been tossed into the pit, vaguely remembering an entry or two about something that could potentially help her situation. Cassidy had said he placed it back after she fell asleep one night. It had to still be there, it could be the only way to save her life.

Slowly, Tulip and Jesse's words were getting faster and Jesse was noticeably disturbed by the topic of Lily's reliance to Cassidy's blood, but Lily's voice cut through their heated discussion, "I think I can figure something out." She croaked out. Tulip and Jesse stared at her. Lily knew she couldn't grab the notebook with the possibility that Jody may come in at any point. With a heavy sigh, Lily sunk her head into her hands, "Let me think." She mumbled weakly.

It was silent for several minutes, while Lily tried desperately to remember what to do. She remembered some symbols, but wasn't sure exactly which one she needed in this instance. With a huff, she looked up finally, "I need to look through mom's book." She whispered. Jesse and Tulip stared at her, she was completely drained and exhausted.

There was a lot on the table from all of them to process, but as Jesse had said, it was important that nothing was hidden from any of them, and now they had a new problem thanks to a situation that he had no idea about. Jesse stared towards TC - still passed out. Shifting on spot, Jesse let out a disgruntled huff, turning towards the bed, "Jody's gonna be up here before we know it, and it's not gonna look good with TC passed out like this." He groaned.

Lily cleared her throat, "When this happened with Cass he was nearly impossible to wake up - and he's a light sleeper, usually." Jesse stood up, moving to TC's side and shaking him, with no luck of waking him up. Tulip shifted on the spot she stood on, her arms crossed, "What if he says somethin' when he wakes up?" She asked. Lily shook her head - her eyes were low and her voice was strained, "I told him to forget before I told him to sleep. Just hoping it works." Tulip swallowed the lump in her throat, fidgeting nervously as she raised her eyebrow. Lily had surprised them this much, who was to say it wouldn't work?

Jesse looked to the side of TC, a bunch of liquids he had brought into the room and threw one on TC's face. Nothing happened. Jesse smacked the side of his face slightly, but got nothing but another snore from TC. Finally, Jesse plugged his nose, causing him to cut off his oxygen. Eventually, TC opened his eyes, jolting awake as he gasped for air, sitting upright on the bed. To Tulip and Lily, who listened and watched, it was actually a bit scary to hear how convincing it was that Jesse was furious, "What the Hell are you doing?" Jesse barked in TC's face as he tried to wake up completely, not recognizing where he was at first. TC looked startled, his eyes were wide as he stared at Jesse hovering above him.

Jesse lowered his brows, and his face was almost red as he spoke with a harsh bite, "Why the Hell are you sleeping in my sister's bed?!"

Tulip and Lily were on the other side of the room, watching silently as Jesse tried to manipulate the situation. They waited for TC to speak, but he looked too terrified to. Had he remembered all the things Lily had brought up and discovered? Their hearts were in their throats, hoping they didn't blow Lily's cover of her potential this early. TC's mouth gaped open for a second, waiting to see what he remembered, "I-" He blinked a few times, until Jesse leaned into his face, "Huh!?" He roared, to which TC jolted on spot, "I-I don't know." TC finally stuttered out.

A wave of relief consumed all of them in the room. TC didn't have a clue. Jesse kept his face in the distorted manner of anger it was in, "Don't let gran'ma or. Jody hear about you just fallin' asleep when there's so much shit to do." Jesse barked, "Get your ass in gear, TC!" Jesse smacked a hand on TC's back, pushing him off the bed as TC caught himself in a blundering stumble as Jesse continued on his heels, "We got lots of shit to take care of before customers start comin' to Angelville!"

In a startled whirlwind, TC ran out of the room with nothing to say. Jesse's shoulders finally dropped as he turned back to the girls, his eyes soft and familiar again, "I think he'll keep his mouth shut." Jesse assured. Tulip looked from Jesse to Lily.

Had it been Lily's power to tell TC to forget or was it Jesse's master manipulation over TC's emotions just now? The Custer's really were a force to be reckoned with when working together. Regardless of what the direct cause was, one thing was for sure - Jesse was right. TC wasn't going to say shit.


	19. The Tombs

Tulip smashed out the last of her cigarette into the mountain of butts at her side, immediately sparking another one. Jody had taken Jesse and Lily down to the Tombs with him, while Tulip stayed upstairs.

With nothing but the sound of the broken window clanking against the rotten frame it was barely still wedged into, Tulip sighed to herself. She sat in a chair in the room Jesse and her had been staying in during their days in Angelville, her knee bouncing as she stared out the window into the darkness of the night. She hoped for an answer to all their problems to smack her in the face, but nothing came. Stress riddled her. She'd felt like she'd made mistake after mistake the past while. How could she have forgotten about the crucial fact that Lily needed Cassidy more than just a companion?

With a scoff to herself, Tulip fidgeted, looking at her phone again. She had to fix this. There had to be a way to get to Cassidy and get some of his blood without letting him know Lily was still alive. Tulip knew that it was best that Cassidy was as far from Angelville as possible.

In the call history of her phone for about as long as she could scroll was the many trials she'd made to reach out to Cassidy - but each time, it hadn't even rang on the other side. Each time she was given the same message, but she tried again. As she held the phone up to her ear she heard the automated message once again, "_The customer you are calling cannot be reached at this time. Please hang up, or try your call agai_-" In a fit of rage, Tulip tossed the phone across the room.

With her mind moving to the Custers, Tulip thought about them for a moment - hoping that whatever it was they were going through in the Tombs that it wasn't as bad as Jesse had worried it would be. Of course Jesse had told Tulip about the Tombs in the past few days that he had been running around getting things ready to open them back up again. It sounded like it was about as awful as you'd expect out of something in Angelville.

Tulip tried to remember everything Jesse had said, going back to a conversation she and Jesse had just a couple days ago.

She thought about it again...

_Jesse shook his head in frustration, "Damn it, Tulip, don't you see?" He said, "I had to tell Cassidy that Lily was dead so he'd leave, it was the only way to get him to, and look!" He reached his arms out, "It worked. No sight of him in days." Tulip was slumped over in an armchair in the corner of the bedroom, her arms crossed as her stomach twisted and turned in all directions, "Well, maybe she is dead, Jesse." Tulip sighed, "And it's all my fault. For fuckin' everything up, as usual." Tulip had gotten in the middle of things when Jesse was close to getting Genesis back, she'd misinterpreted everything completely. She couldn't help but feel the way she did. If she just hadn't gotten in the way of things, they'd all be on the road out of Angelville by now. _

_With a deep breath, Jesse tried to remain as calm as possible, "What's done is done, Tulip. No sense dragging it on." He said, "And Lily is not dead." Jesse assured. Tulip looked up to him skeptically, it had been almost two days at that point that she was nowhere to be found. With thoughtful eyes, Jesse scanned the room, his hands on his hips as he adjusted his weight, "She's probably wishin' she was, but she's strong. She'll make it out of wherever it is gran'ma's putting her through." He shook his head, suddenly sounding much more somber, "They know I've been through all sorts of cruel forms of torture here. They know by now I can outlive anything they throw at me, but they also know it hurts me more to know Lily's in there instead of me." _

_Tulip had nothing to say, she just stared at Jesse, her stomach still twisting into a tighter knot each moment that passed. Jesse looked up to Tulip again, the hurt very obvious in his eyes, "Tulip." He started, before exhaling deeply, "They were gonna kill Cassidy. They were gonna hang him up outside and wait for the sun to come up, until I convinced them to keep him for the Tombs. Luckily I got him out and made it look like he escaped, but I had to say what I did to push him away, otherwise he wouldn't have left and they would've killed him."_

_With her eyes suddenly burning hot, Tulip understood how good Jesse was at saying things to push people away. Even if Jesse had best interest in his heart, he put on a good enough performance to make the words he said feel like he punched his fist directly into your chest and ripped your heart out himself._

_Feeling a tightness in her throat, Tulip nodded once. _

_Next, Jesse slammed the suitcase down - the suitcase they'd stolen from Madame Boyd's safety vault just earlier that day. It had some souls in it, but not a whole lot. It had been enough to convince gran'ma to hold off on doing anything rash until they opened the Tombs to get more - but now it was empty. Tulip looked at Jesse with a confused look on her face, wondering what an empty suitcase had to do with anything. She watched as Jesse took his finger and pointed at the logo on the front - underneath it was symbols - whether it was Chinese or Japanese, Tulip wasn't sure - regardless, she couldn't understand it._

_"What?" Tulip had asked Jesse. "This," Jesse started, "I recognize it back from New Orleans. When I had to retract some of my soul for the Saint. There was a truck - an armoured truck **full** of soul viles." He explained, "I know the Grail needs me more than I need them. They'll be back. If I can get the Grail to make a deal with gran'ma, maybe they can get their hands on some more souls for her, trade for my services, I get Genesis back, then **boom** \- when my time's up with the Grail, I come back here and finally take care of things. All gran'ma wants is souls, to live longer and become stronger. And it doesn't matter if she consumes all the souls in the world, no matter what power she's got, cause Genesis is stronger. I'll get gran'ma to let go of you. Of me, and Lily." Tulip looked up to him, nodding as she struggled to understand completely, but never opposed to a plan. _

As she replayed the conversation to herself, Tulip huffed, not understanding any better than she had before. With a groan to herself, she leaned her head to one side, puffing at her cigarette between her fingers. Jesse had told Tulip that the only thing gran'ma wanted was souls - that was Jesse's debt payment - to get Madame L'Angelle more souls to devour so she would not only live longer, but become more powerful like she once was.

The Tombs had to open to keep souls coming in, but it was a temporary plan until Jesse could find a way to make the plan he'd told her become a reality...

With her eyes flashing to her phone laying on the ground on the other side of the room, Tulip lifted herself up off the chair and went to pick it up. Desperate, Tulip tried calling Cassidy again. When the other side began ringing, Tulip dropped her cigarette in her other hand and nearly burnt herself. She stopped moving when the ringing stopped and she heard the other side of the line pick up.

"Cass?" Tulip asked, "Cass, I thought you lost your phone or somethin'." She sighed, "Thank fuck you answered. What took so long to pick up?" It took a while for Cassidy to reply. Tulip heard some shuffling and a grunt come out of him before he spoke, "Phone was dead." He finally groaned in a short manner.

With a heavy breath, Tulip closed her eyes, shaking her head with the phone in her ear, "Jesus, Cass, where are you?"

When he spoke again, he sounded nothing short of miserable, the worst Tulip had ever heard, "Why's it matter?" He mumbled.

Tulip kept her voice low and soft as possible, "I just wanted to ask if you were okay, and... and I wanted you to know that I... I miss you. A lot." With a sudden pit in her stomach, Tulip cleared her throat, "I need to know you're hangin' in there." Tulip paused, not entirely sure how she was going to keep the fact that Lily was alive a secret while at the same time trying to find a reason for needing Cassidy's blood.

"She's dead." Cassidy stated with little to no emotion, "N'yer tellin' me that you want the first thing to do with me?" Tulip was speechless, tears welling up in her eyes as she struggled to find the right words. It was obvious Cassidy had felt the guilt for Lily's fake death - he had lost his mind days ago when he launched himself towards Madame L'Angelle, exposing himself in the sunlight and taking on Jody the way he had. Jesse's words rang in Tulip's head, "_They were gonna kill him." _

There were all kinds of emotions inside Tulip - as desperately as she wanted to tell Cassidy the truth and cure his obvious slump, she couldn't. Jesse had made it clear that if Cassidy was in Angelville that Jody and Gran'ma would kill him. If she told Cassidy that Lily was still alive, there wasn't a doubt that he'd come back on his own no matter what Tulip said to deter him from doing so.

Cassidy's sorrowful murmur of slurring words pulled Tulip out of her inner tuffle of emotions, "Askin' if I'm _okay_?"

Tulip felt a lump in her throat as she listened to him speak. He was slurring more than she'd ever heard, and the tone he was using was foreign to Tulip. Still not sure of the right words, Tulip found herself barely able to whisper out, "Cass-" With a broken crack, she was about to burst into a fit of emotion if she didn't gather herself. "Tulip." Cassidy interrupted, "I've been through this hun'rids if not thousands o'times." Cassidy groaned, "I don't hang in there fer anyone." He said coldly, "Leave me alone." With a rush of adrenaline running through her, Tulip was able to muster the courage to speak, "Wait- Cass, _please_." Tulip choked out, "Tell me where you are. _Now_."

* * *

The Tombs had been just as awful as the memory of them that Lily had seen buried inside of TC. Lily had no idea how so many people could pile into the dark basement in the building just beside the Angelville house. She watched as her brother, the ringleader of the treacherous event, introduced and claimed the winners of each round.

Jesse had told Lily that he had to sell that he was doing his best, but it was hard for Lily to tell whether it was all just an act once Jesse stood in the ring. His shouts and bellows to the audience as he enticed the actions, the scuffle of Jody and TC as they brought out one contestant after another - it had been a much larger operation than what Lily realized.

Keeping to herself in a far corner close to the exit, Lily simply watched for the hours and hours the same routine of brutal combat happened. Jody had brought another one of the contestants who'd lost around the corner, his eyes locking with Lily's as she couldn't help but move them away, staring at the person he pushed around, who was now soulless. It was a feeling that gave her shivers every time she looked into their eyes. The life they'd had moments ago before they lost their round in the Tombs was gone. It was as if they'd become zombies, and each one of them had sacrificed their soul just so her grandmother could become stronger. The heat inside Lily burned, but she remained still, simply studying the environment.

After several hours, there was a period of turnaround, while TC and Jody moved things around, Jesse found an opportunity to touch base with his sister. She watched her brother swerving through the crowd to get to her. With her eyes glued to the top hat on his head, she felt her stomach turn. "How you holdin' up?" Jesse asked her quietly. With a simple shrug, Lily stared up to her brother - a judgemental streak in her eyes, "Not as good as you are.." She said, "Looks like you're quite comfortable." With a huff, Jesse let his eyes scan to ensure Jody and TC weren't near them, "I told you, I gotta sell the part." He justified. Lily shifted her weight, taking a sharp breath in, "How'd you get Cass to leave?" She asked. Jesse's eyes moved back to his sisters immediately, wanting to lie, but knowing that their lies to one another had only caused a setback, "I told him you were dead." He admitted. With her brows slowly rising, Lily nodded, "You told him I was dead." She repeated. Jesse nodded, short of patience as he placed his hands on his hips, "I realize how ironic that is _now_, but that was before I knew _you_ were the bloodsucker of the two of you.." He groaned bitterly, his eyes scanning around the Tombs once again.

Lily's brow was immediately scrunched in offense and she was already shaking her head as she leaned in closer to him, "I don't _suck blood_ fro-" She stopped on her hissing words, scoffing as she realized it was useless to begin trying to justify it - especially when time was so sensitive, "I'll find a way around that whole fucking thing." Lily huffed. Nodding, Jesse raised his brow to his sister, adjusting the top hat on his head, "That's really the only option, cause you can't try and reach out to him, Lily. He's gotta stay away from Angelville. And if he finds out you're still alive-" "Yea." Lily interrupted her brother, "Yea, I know, Jesse."

With his eyes still lingering onto hers to make sure she was being honest, he finally dropped his shoulders, "You promise?" He asked. Lily nodded, "Promise." She stated truthfully. No part of her wanted Cassidy in danger, and it was obvious Angelville didn't have any good intentions for Cassidy. Her brother nodded, making his way back into the brutal ring of the Tombs. The offputting and hellacious environment of the Tombs should've been enough to distract Lily, but still, the fear of her reliance on Cassidy's blood proved to be the larger distraction.

By the time the night was turning to day and the sun was coming up, Lily hardly hit the bed before she passed out. Subconsciously, Lily had hoped she would have a dream that night - anything to help her try and figure out a way to fix any of the mess they were in, but she proved to have a blank sleep.

...

It felt like she'd hardly let her head down when she was woken up again. With a sharp exhale, Lily lifted her head, her eyes adjusting to notice that Jesse was at her side, "Sorry." He said, a soft hand he'd used to push at her to wake her up still resting on her side. A bit disoriented, Lily sat up in the bed, trying to gather her bearings as she woke up completely, "What's wrong?" She asked, her voice hoarse as she cleared her throat. Her body was sore and she seemed to have a permanent headache seeing as it hadn't left in the past few days.

"Tulip's not answering my calls." Jesse said, "She was gone when I went to bed a while ago but I woke up and she's still not around." He said, "Can you do that thing you do?"

Maybe it was the pounding headache, or maybe it was because she wasn't fully awake yet, but it took Lily to process what that meant. "Oh." She finally said, her eyes slowly glancing around as she looked for her phone. Finally, she saw it - on the other side of the room. With a deep breath, Lily moved off the bed - the stiffness of her sore body was amplified by her clothes she had slept in. She had been too exhausted to even change after the entire night in the Tombs, the decision to sleep in jeans was one she had only made years ago in the past after a long night out drinking with Jesse and Tulip. She'd wished that had been the case this time.

As she grabbed her phone, she groaned. This was the first time in a long time she resorted to technology. In the past, tech was her go-to, but with all the supernatural things taking over focus of things, technology wasn't exactly something that she thought would help out.

She began swiping her finger on her phone, struggling to remember what application she used to track each of them, having installed the corresponding software on each of their phones. "Hm." Lily let out a disgruntled groan. "What?" Jesse asked, a little nervous. "Oh, nothing," Lily said, "Just trying to remember how I did this. It's been a while since I've used my phone for anything."

"Hmph." Jesse chuckled softly, "Usually you're glued to that thing. I'm surprised with how great you are with that kinda stuff that you haven't found a way to get out of this mess." He teased. With her eyes still glued onto the phone screen, Jesse saw his sister's brows raise as she took a deep breath, "Ya, well, can't exactly google 'my psychotic grandmother killed my parents and runs a Hell on earth to profit off of desperate people, devouring their souls and remain young, now she's set a blood compact spell on my brother and I, we're trapped here and worse than that, we can feel when the other has an orgasm, how do I fix this?' " She stated flatly, "Well, I mean, I _could_, but something makes me seriously doubt I'll find any results."

Without restraint, Jesse couldn't help but laugh - it sounded insane, and yet, it was all true. He had no choice but to find some kind of humor, "Suppose that's true." He stated, thankful to see a lighthearted streak in his sister's eyes.

Suddenly, Lily's brow narrowed, her fingers pinching against her phone as she zoomed into Tulip's phone location, "She's back in New Orleans." Lily stated, shaking her head, "What the Hell is she doing there?"

Jesse shook his head back from the bed that he was still sitting on as Lily walked up to him, showing him the location. "I don't know." Jesse said. With his sister standing at his side, she crossed her arms while Jesse held onto her phone, "She didn't say anything before she left?" Still looking at the phone screen, Jesse shook his head again, "She texted me. Said she was going out and she'd be back, but that was a while ago, and she's not responding to my texts or answering my calls." Lily didn't say anything, but her brother looked up to her, "Is this live? Where she is right now?" He asked. With a sharp breath in, Lily grabbed her phone from her brother, checking the information on Tulip's location and seeing it was last updated two minutes ago, "Yea." Lily stated, opening the options more to see Tulip's location history. When Lily's face scrunched, Jesse turned more towards her, looking up at his sister, "What?" He asked.

"She's been in this same place for..." Lily looked at the period of time Tulip's location hadn't changed, "Four hours?" She said in disbelief. The both of them locked eyes - it seemed weird. Lily opened another option to ping the phone with a message, "I'm using a default setting for when people lose phones to send a message - maybe she silenced her phone or something." Lily tapped away at the keyboard:

**Call Jesse ASAP**

With a nod, Jesse shifted his weight and stood up beside Lily, "Thanks, Lil." Jesse said, "Give her an hour to respond to that. If she hasn't, then..." He trailed off. Lily raised her brow, "She will." She assured, thankfully sounding more confident than what she felt.

* * *

When Lily got out of the shower, she groaned at the dull but sharp pain all over her body. Grabbing at some painkillers, she downed a few with some water and quickly made a point to grab her mother's notebook, finding the pages she was struggling to remember the day before. Turning the pages, she finally stopped when she saw the symbols she'd vaguely remembered. Her mother's writing and notes went on about something called manifestation and immunity runes.

There were spotty notes on how to create one, but it seemed like they were unfinished. Lily shook her head in frustration. She wasn't sure how they worked exactly, but it was worth a shot. Her eyes glanced to the towels and rags coated in Cassidy's dried blood. With a heavy sigh, she consumed as much knowledge as possible from the book before putting it back in it's hiding place in the wall.

She quietly made her way out the front doors of the house, hoping she wouldn't see anyone on her way. When she was outside she walked a ways out to an open area. Even though when her eyes scanned the open space around her, she couldn't help but feel watched - slowly, she leaned over and grabbed a few small stones and placed them in her jacket pocket.

When she went back inside, she was relieved that she hadn't bumped into anyone, quickly making her way back up to the bedroom. With a knife, she began carving the symbol into each of the rocks. There were three rocks, and three different symbols on the notes she was trying to replicate. Spending a lot of time, she tried to mimic what she'd read about to the best of her ability and understanding - which wasn't very much.

She'd dampened some of the fabric that had Cassidy's dried blood on them, smudging each of the supposed runes she'd made out of the stones she had gathered and carved into. She clasped each of them individually in her hands, repeating the words that she remembered in her mother's writing. It hadn't felt any different each time she had done it. Part of her was expecting a powerful glow, or a feeling or sound - anything to make her believe everything she just did had done _something_.

But instead, she was left at the end of it all just sitting there in silence, feeling as though she'd just wasted time, left with simply three stones she'd scratched at and smeared some old blood on. With a disheartened grunt, Lily shoved them into her pockets. Just in time, as she heard someone approaching her room. There was a knock, and Lily felt herself get nervous of the various paraphernalia she'd just used sitting on the ground in the open, "Uh, hello?" She stuttered anxiously. "It's me-" Jesse said, "Can I come in?" He asked.

With a wave of relief consuming her, Lily dropped her shoulders, "Yea." The door opened and Jesse looked to the ground of the bedroom. A screwdriver, a pair of scissors, a knife, blood stained fabric and some rope laid in the open. "You figure something out?" He asked curiously. With a huff, Lily shrugged a shoulder, "I'm not sure." She said with a ton of self-doubt, "Any word?" Lily asked, wondering about Tulip.

When Jesse shook his head, Lily felt the room fill with a disheartened gloom. "I gotta keep the Tombs running." Jesse stated, "You have to go find Tulip." With a heavy sigh, Lily crossed her arms, "And just how the Hell am I supposed to leave here without getting choked to near death and tossed into another pit for the second time this week?" Lily stated more than asked.

Jesse reached a hand and rubbed the lower half of his face, his eyes staring anywhere but towards his sister, "I already handled that. You can go." He stated. Lily's brow lowered, her head turning slightly as she leaned towards her brother, "What's that mean?" She asked skeptically. Jesse finally looked back to his sister, his hands on his hips impatiently, "I convinced gran'ma to let you go find her. I told her the truth, that Tulip's been missing now for too long and isn't responding and that I'm worried about her." He confessed. Instantly, Lily felt her brows loosen again, the obvious concern in her brother bothering her more than anything. Jesse walked closer to Lily, "Listen," He said, "I would rather go myself, but the Tombs have to stay open. And I don't want to leave that with you."

Lily didn't either. She nodded slowly, "Alright." She stated, "Let me just clean up here and get my things."

* * *

When Jesse and Lily filed downstairs, Jesse's hand was on his sister's back as he urged at her gently to go faster. He was determined to get Lily out the front door before anyone could interrupt, but against his desire, their grandmother's voice called out to them from the other room. "_Here_." She demanded.

At the same time, Lily and Jesse stopped in their fast momentum, the front door just inches away from their grasp as they both reluctantly turned around to make their way into the living room their grandmother had called from.

When they walked into the room, Jody and TC were there, of course. If they weren't doing something for Madame L'Angelle, they were instead at her side. As Marie L'Angelle's eyes scanned the two of them, they landed directly attached to Lily's eyes. Feeling a cold chill through her, Lily found herself suddenly aware of how tight she was keeping her mouth shut. The stones she'd carved into an manipulated clinking in her pockets gave her sudden anxiety.

While her grandmother's cold eyes stared through her, Lily stayed still, until finally, she spoke, "You're gonna take Jody with you." Madame L'Angelle demanded. Both Lily and Jesse were surprised when Jody groaned immediately, "Ahhh, c'mon Miss Marie. The Tombs are _finally_ back up'n runnin' and you want me to go babysit?" He whined, lifting one of his massive arms, "Can't ya just give her the ol' twist if she's not back before she says?" Jody asked.

Lily and Jesse stared at Madame L'Angelle, who's eyes were still on Lily as her mouth twisted every which way thinking about Jody's words. Every part of Lily was thankful that Jody had attested to going with her - the last thing she wanted was to be alone with him. Normally, Jody and TC would never argue with Madame L'Angelle, but with the Tombs being open again, Jody wasn't keen on missing out on something that he enjoyed so much.

Lily was surprised to hear Jesse's voice pipe up close to her side, "I could really use Jody here." Jesse started, "We got a good system going in the Tombs now to get as much of a turnaround happenin' down there." He justified, knowing his grandmother would care about production rate of getting more souls more than anything else.

With her dry and cracking lips going still, Madame L'Angelle reached a boney hand up to her chin, "Fine." She hissed, "New Orleans." She stated, going off what Jesse had told her earlier, "While you're there, you'll get me a few things." Madame L'Angelle ordered, pointing at TC, who scurried over to Lily with a piece of paper. Lily hardly glanced at it before putting it in her pockets.

"Be back before the sun goes down." Marie L'Angelle ordered. Lily opened her mouth, holding her words for a moment as she tried to make sure she was speaking carefully, "New Orleans is quite the drive," Lily finally said, "And Tulip's location hasn't updated in hours... I'm afraid something bad might've happened to her and it's going to take me awhile to find her."

With piercing eyes, her grandmother stared into Lily again. Lily felt the cold chill switch to a hot burn inside of her. Lily let out a feeble groan, unwillingly. She felt like she was a teenager, arguing with a parent for a later curfew.

Madame L'Angelle narrowed her eyes at Lily, sticking a boney finger out at her, "You're not back by this time tomorrow, you'll feel it." Her grandmother threatened. For a moment, Lily thought she could suddenly feel that feeling her grandmother was referring to, her throat suddenly tightened. Lily swallowed and nodded simply. Even with a whole day, she wasn't sure if it was going to be enough, but she was going to have to make it enough.


	20. By My Side

It felt all sorts of strange for Lily to be alone. It had been such a long time since she'd been by herself. As she drove Jesse's truck towards New Orleans, she caught herself feeling so unusual. With the window beside her down, she finally felt the true feeling of fresh air and sunshine - those things just didn't seem to get into Angelville, like there was some awful barrier that stopped good things from penetrating the grounds. Part of her felt like it had all been a weird fever dream, like everything in Angelville had just been a horrible, neverending nightmare that she finally woke up from. She moved her one hand on the steering wheel, facing the palm up to herself as she stared at the awful scar - almost black in color it was so dark red, and was reminded that the nightmare was still in fact reality.

She'd tried calling Tulip a few more times on her way, just in case. Every part of her hoped she would have just picked up and ended the slow burning worry that was growing larger and larger inside of her - but she had no such luck. No answer, yet again. Before she made it to New Orleans, Lily had stopped to grab something to eat - it was the first bit of normal food she'd had in what felt like years. When she was on the road again, she grabbed her phone, looking at Tulip's location and coming near to it as she ventured into the congested area of New Orleans.

When she saw on the map how close she was getting to Tulip's phone location, she dropped her phone, her eyes scanning the area as she saw the signature purple Chevelle. Lily felt her heart flutter at the sight - feeling hopeful.

Lily pulled up behind Tulip's car on the side of the road, parking the truck directly behind it as she kept the truck running. When she approached the car, she saw no one inside. Her eyes caught a flutter of paper on the windshield. Under the wipers was about three or four parking tickets. Not uncommon for Tulip, but it meant she hadn't moved her car in a while. Lily grabbed the tickets, noting the time stamps on them. The time added up for the amount of hours her location on her phone hadn't changed.

When Lily grabbed at the car door handle and pulled, it was unlocked - which was a bad sign. Tulip never left her car unlocked. Leaning into the drivers side, Lily saw the keys on the ground under the steering wheel - an even _worse_ sign. Now Lily's heart was racing. The pit in her stomach became much more obvious to her as she felt the small fire of concern shift into an explosion of worry.

Suddenly, she heard a beep. It was Tulip's phone. Lily moved her hands around the seats until she found it had fallen between the center console. On the home screen displayed all of Jesse and Lily's missed calls and text messages. Lily locked Tulip's car and moved back into Jesse's truck, which was still running. She sat inside the cab of the truck, trying her best to stay calm as her mind raced on what to do next. As she took a deep breath in, Lily looked up and out of the windshield of the truck, her eyes studying the area for several minutes.

Finally, she looked to Tulip's phone again thinking there might be something that might tell her what Tulip may be up to. Lily flipped through the notifications, dismissing everything from Jesse and herself that they had sent to Tulip, not finding much else. She tried to look through her apps and see if anything may tell Lily anything, but she had no luck. Finally, she went to her phone history.

As Lily's finger swiped at Tulip's phone screen through the dozens of missed calls from Lily and Jesse, she finally got to the timeframe before Tulip went missing. It took Lily a moment to process, but she saw the phone call before she'd left Angelville that Tulip had made and it burned into Lily's eyes:

**CASS - Outgoing Call - 4min22sec**

After the initial shock wore off, Lily felt herself relax somewhat - Tulip could just be with Cassidy, she thought. It wasn't unusual that Tulip would leave her phone behind... but to leave her car unlocked and her keys inside the vehicle? Lily felt herself stiffen slightly again. That fact _was_ still very out of the ordinary. With a groan of confusion, Lily decided to track Cassidy - something she hadn't even considered doing up until this moment.

A bit confused when the location loaded, Lily felt her brow scrunch. Her eyes moved from her phone to the buildings across the road. Cassidy's location was not current by any means, but about ten hours prior it had picked him up in one of the buildings directly across the road from where she was right now. There were apartment buildings and the odd house, and it was hard to tell exactly where his location was being picked up just staring across the way. Lily stared at the two phones in her hand and sighed. No part of her wanted to shatter the illusion that Jesse had created to push Cassidy away from Angelville, but this was about Tulip - and something told Lily that whatever happened to her wasn't right, which meant that Jesse's lie about Lily being dead would soon have to be exposed - _if _Lily could even find Cassidy.

With yet another huff, Lily turned the truck off, placing the keys into her pocket along with Tulip's set for her car and followed the last location Cassidy's phone had picked up. Lily felt her shoulders drop unwillingly as she walked past the half-decent looking apartment buildings and instead saw the set location on the phone to be just next door. With a groan, Lily's eyes studied the beatdown, crooked excuse of a house. The windows were boarded with plywood, and there were graffiti markings all over it. The roof looked like it was going to cave in at any moment and the siding was torn off. At the front door, two people slumped side by side on the porch. They looked like standard crackheads. Tucking the phones into her pockets, Lily started walking towards the building she deemed to be a crack house. "Hello." Lily said simply to the two strangers on the porch, "Have you guys seen a loud, tall, tattooed Irishman around here?" She asked. The one, who was a woman, looked up to her. Her eyes were glazed over and her hair was tattered and greasy beneath her hood, "Who's askin?" She asked. The man beside her looked up to Lily with droopy eyes, his mouth hanging open for Lily to have a chance to see some serious meth mouth, "Uh," Lily started, "Me. I'm asking."

The woman's mouth moved slowly into a smile as she laughed feebly, "Huh. Huh huh huh.." She laughed a little harder, leaning into the man at her side who laughed back, not knowing what was going on let alone what planet he was on.

With a frustrated grunt, Lily shook her head, walking past the two to the front door that was already half open anyways. Inside, it smelt about the same way it looked - awful. There were sleeping bags strewn across the floor, garbage and clutter of all sorts of things. Lily held her breath and grabbed her phone from her pocket, tracking Cassidy's location again. She was much closer. As she followed the icon on her phone, she turned the corner into another room, where a man sat in the corner, startling Lily at first - until she realized he was also out of it. Finally, in the corner of the room, she saw something she recognized all too well - a whiskey bottle. Slowly, her eyes noticed more empty whiskey bottles, among other things. Needles, empty baggies, and finally - Cassidy's phone, sitting face down. Lily leaned down to pick it up, pressing on the home button. It was dead, which wasn't a shock. She struggled to find space in her pockets to shove yet another abandoned phone into, "Ugh!" Lily growled in annoyance, "Cass!" Lily yelled out loud, "Cassidy!" She tried again. The man in the corner groaned, "Quit your yelling, woman." He shook his head, grabbing at a small bag in his pocket that was empty, "Ugh." He groaned, rubbing his red eyes.

Lily grabbed her phone, remembering that weeks ago when she was back in Worthington that Cassidy had sent herself a picture of him, Jesse and Tulip. She found it, zooming into Cassidy's face and walking up to the man in the corner of the room, "This guy, you've seen him here?" It was a question, but it came across as more of a statement. The man looked up reluctantly, his brows furrowed, "Yea, I've seen him." Lily nodded, "Good. Okay, when's the last time?" The man shook his head, "I dunno... a day ago? Two days?" "Was it a day ago?" Lily asked impatiently, "Or was it two days ago?" The man's brow narrowed, "I don't fucking know where he is, lady, get off my fucking back."

Lily stood upright, her eyes glued to the mountain of empty whiskey bottles and drug paraphernalia. It was likely he'd gone to fill up on what seemed to be missing here. "Thanks for nothing." Lily mumbled, storming quickly out of the crack house and walking up to the road. Taking a deep breath, Lily looked both ways of the street before her eyes went back to Tulip's car and Jesse's truck that Lily had driven. Finally, Lily's head dipped down as she closed her eyes. Frustration was taking over very quickly. She was on a wild goose chase and every bit of her really hoped that both Tulip and Cassidy were just out having a drink together somewhere but the worst part was, her gut instinct told her something different.

* * *

Lily had spent too much time hopping from bar to bar around the area close to where the search had began. She was beginning to feel hopeless as she opened the door into yet another establishment. With a quick pace, Lily let her eyes scan the bar before she caught the attention of the bartender, "Hey, sorry to be a bother, but my uncle's got Alzheimer's, and he's been missing for a few days and we're really worried about him." Lily lied, "Before we get the cops involved we were hoping to find him ourselves..." Lily turned to show the only picture of Cassidy she had on her phone. The bartender popped two beers open as he looked at the picture, handing the beers over to customers at Lily's side, "Yeah." The bartender said, "I've seen him, just today." Lily didn't have to fake the relief she felt, "Oh," She sighed, "Thank God. Did he say anything? Might know where he's off to?" Lily asked hopefully. With sad eyes, the bartender shook his head, "Sorry, honey." He said honestly, "He didn't say. But if you don't mind me saying..." He moved closer to Lily, keeping his voice low, "He seemed very out of it. We had to cut him off and he wasn't very happy about that." Lily nodded, "He's been off his meds for a while now." Lily lied, "I'm sorry if he behaved poorly."

Already shaking his head, the bartender waved a hand, "Nah, it's no problem. You said he's your uncle?" The bartender asked, to which Lily nodded. "But he's got an accent, right? Like, Scottish or Irish or something?" With her face softening to a smile, Lily nodded, "He gets confused, sometimes. His disease... it makes him believe crazy things. He goes on about being a fighter for the Irish Republic sometimes, that's classic of him." With a soft smile in return, the bartender nodded, "I see. Well, I'm sorry to hear you and your family have to go through this. I'll try and keep an eye out, if you want to give me your phone number I can call you if he turns up again?"

Lily gave a polite smile, "Sure." She decided, giving the bartender her phone number rather than risk him calling the police on Cassidy if he turned up instead. "Thank you for your help." Lily said honestly, at least knowing she was doing the right thing by searching within close vicinity of the crackhouse.

As Lily made her way out of the bar, she stood on the crosswalk, wondering if checking to see if Cassidy had made it back to the crackhouse was a good idea. As she looked at the time on her phone, she groaned. Time was of the essence, and she couldn't spend all day bar hopping for mediocre clues. As she began walking, she unlocked her phone, the picture she'd been using to show people Cassidy's face still open. She pinched her fingers on the screen, the image was of Cassidy, Tulip and Jesse. Their arms were around each other and they had smiles on their face like it was the happiest moment of their lives - it looked like just a spur moment of bliss. It was the only picture she had of Cassidy, and it was because he'd taken it and sent it to her himself. She couldn't remember the last time she took a picture with Tulip or Jesse. With a sad huff, Lily stared at it for a while, wondering if they'd all ever have an opportunity to have a reason to take a picture like that all together.

Suddenly, a crash caught Lily's attention. She turned her head to the right, down an alley way, where two people were pushing at each other, one of them falling into a dumpster that had caused the crashing noise that caught Lily's attention. She hadn't thought anything at first, until she noticed the bottle of whiskey in one of their hands - it was the brand that was Cassidy's go-to. With her brow scrunched, Lily turned to face the ruckus, knowing that neither of the men were Cassidy. "You have the meth!" The one of them yelled, "Let me at least take the whiskey!" The man walked over to the wall, reaching into the pockets of someone who was slumped completely over unconscious. It didn't take Lily long to figure out that the knocked out person that the two men were robbing was Cassidy.

With quick speed, Lily made her way into the commotion, "Hey!" She yelled, "Cassidy!" He didn't move. He was out beyond belief, and only when Lily stepped much closer did she notice the three needles sticking out of his arm. The two men weren't taken aback by Lily's presence whatsoever, watching simply as Lily leaned down and grabbed at Cassidy's eyelids, trying to open them, only to see his cloudy eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lily placed her fingers on his neck, which was covered in needle markings, to notice that there was no pulse. Dropping her hand and staying crouched down to him, Lily sighed - relieved to have found Cassidy, but upset to see the state he was currently in - which at this moment was dead. "Ah, Cassidy.." Lily sighed, "Jesus, what's going on with you?" With no response, Cassidy's lifeless body just laid against the concrete. "He overdosed." One of the men behind Lily said. Lily turned to them, each of them with hands full of the drugs and alcohol they'd robbed Cassidy of, "Yea," Lily nodded, "I see that." She said flatly, turning back to Cassidy as she pulled out the needles sticking out of his arm. With a groan, Lily ran her hand through her hair and shook her head, still staring at Cassidy as she spoke to the druggy strangers, "Give you fifty dollars to help me move him."

* * *

Lily hopped back into the truck in the hospital parking lot with the bag around her shoulder full of blood bags - yet another thing that took up more time than she liked to use, but she didn't have much choice if she wanted Cassidy to come back to life. When she turned to her right, she lifted her jacket she'd placed over Cassidy to protect him from any sun. He was still passed out on the passenger side, his neck at a ninety degree angle as his head rested against the window. With a heavy exhale, Lily let her eyes scan the area once more before she opened the first blood bag and placed it into his mouth, pushing on it until nature took over. Slowly, Cassidy's mouth suctioned to the opening of the bag, the rest of his body not yet moving as he slowly sucked the blood out of the hospital bag it was in. Lily placed her coat back over him and her eyes wandered to Cassidy's phone - which Lily had placed on a charger she'd brought to plug into the truck. The screen was covered in sticky filth, but Lily was able to open the phone up and try to find any correspondence from Tulip. Sadly, there was no more to find on Cassidy's phone than what Lily had already found on Tulip's. Tossing the phone back down, Lily began driving back to where she'd found Tulip's car.

After several minutes, Lily finally felt and heard something from Cassidy, a slight rustle movement happening beneath the coat over top of him. With her eyes still on the road, Lily grabbed at another blood bag and used her teeth to open the cap off the top of it, blindly reaching her hand under the coat and trying to place it into Cassidy's mouth with the other bag that was almost empty now. It was a few more minutes until Cassidy slowly sat up, the coat still partially over him as he struggled to open his eyes. "Here." Lily said, handing him her sunglasses.

Slowly, Cassidy grabbed the sunglasses and placed them on his face. Trying to keep her attention to driving, Lily glanced at him quickly, seeing the obvious discomfort Cassidy was feeling. Lily could only imagine how awful it would feel for your body to start up again after overdosing. "There's more bags at your feet." Lily said, "I tracked your location, though it hadn't been updated in a long time, took me to a crack shack. Is that where you've been all these days?" She asked.

It took a while, but Cassidy finally spoke, "Yeh." He croaked quietly.

Needing to use time wisely, Lily tried her best to compress everything as quick as possible, "Jesse convinced gran'ma to let me leave Angelville to go find Tulip. She's missing. Not answering any of my or Jesse's calls for almost a whole day now." When Cassidy didn't respond, Lily continued, shoulder checking as she made a lane change, "She forgot that I needed your blood to survive so I'm guessing that she was trying to fix that problem." Lily sighed. There was still no response from Cassidy, "So when I got to her location, I didn't find her. Just her car, with the keys still in it, which is really fucking weird... and her phone, and when I went through it to try and find something, I saw that she had called and talked to you. Did you see her?"

When Cassidy was still silent even after everything Lily had said, she finally took her eyes off the road for a moment to see if Cassidy was still even there. His eyes were covered partially by Lily's sunglasses she had given him, but she could still see how broken they looked.

Cassidy's voice was hoarse, and his tone was flat with little to no emotion, "Jesse told me you were dead. N'I believed 'im. Cause I never thought he'd lie about somethin' like that."

Lily shook her head, her brows furrowing as she'd realized that she'd completely undone what her brother had to do to push Cassidy away from Angelville to keep him safe. "He didn't lie. He really thought I was dead," She lied, "I was shoved into a fucking pit in the ground for God knows how long. At least a few days." She explained, "Jess and Tulip didn't see me for a long time. I had to tell Jody what felt like a hundred times that I had no idea about you being a vampire just to get me out of there."

Lily was left with nothing but the truck engine running, so she just left it at that, letting Cassidy try to get his baring back a bit better. Clearly he was hurt, emotionally and physically. He looked the worst she'd ever seen him and he'd done it all to himself. It was silent for the remainder of the drive. When Lily parked down the road from Tulip's car, she turned to Cassidy, who felt like a stranger to her. He sat facing forward, his eyes low. With a quiet deep breath, Lily grabbed his phone that was still attached to the charger, "Charged your phone." She stated, holding it out. When Cassidy didn't seem to care, Lily placed it back down and let out a frustrated huff, leaning her elbow against the door at her side and laying her head in her hand.

With a twist in her stomach, Lily turned her head and stared at Cassidy's awful appearance. Even worse from that was the energy coming from him. It seemed to consume the small cab of the truck, "Cass-" She started, feeling a bit hopeless at the sight of him, "I need your fucking help." She begged, "I need you to get back to being-" Her words stopped as her eyes studied him again up and down once more, struggling to find the right words that didn't seem too harsh, "Not like this." She settled with.

With his head hanging in shame, Cassidy grabbed another blood bag, ripping it open in a sloth like manner as he stuck it into his mouth. He was filthy. It didn't look like he'd showered or cleaned himself in a month. His skin was covered in bruises and scabs, track marks from needles among all sorts of other things.

"I'm alive, okay?" Lily said, "I'm sorry everyone had to go through thinking I wasn't." She lied again, but she didn't want Cassidy to have any reason to resent Jesse again - knowing that Jesse's reasoning of just wanting Cassidy to be safe was never going to be a fact Cassidy would swallow. Lily swallowed the lump in her throat, "And I'm glad I found you, and that you're okay and didn't go too far, because I need you." She added, hoping that if she pulled at his heartstrings that he would wake up from the terrible slump he seemed to be stuck in.

When Cassidy moved his mouth from the blood bag, Lily was surprised to see him smirk slightly, a feeble laugh escaping his nose, "Hmph." His head bobbed. Lily leaned slightly closer to him, wondering what he was going to say, hoping it was something that would make her feel like the Cassidy she knew and needed would shine through. He looked to her at his side, the silence between them full of confusing tension. Lily felt herself holding her breath for a moment as she studied his face. Soon, he lifted his hand and ran his teeth against it, making a larger than normal slit across his entire palm. As he reached his hand out towards her, Lily leaned back, her brow narrowing as she was lost for words while she stared at the blood pouring out from the slice he'd made. "You _need_ me?" Cassidy repeated her words laced with bitter mockery, "_You_need _me_." He repeated again, his voice was harsh. Soon, the blood from his palm was pouring out faster and it had begun dripping off onto Lily's lap, "Well here you fuckin' go!" He yelled, moving his palm closer to her, "Here I am!"

Finally, Lily retaliated, her patience wearing thin as she struggled to believe she'd gotten anywhere close to finding Tulip, "Not like that!" Lily yelled back, pushing at Cassidy's bloody palm, "I need you by my _side, _Cassidy. I need your _help_." She specified. Suddenly, in this moment, she wasn't so sure if Cassidy was able to be of any help. Although he was a vampire, he felt awfully human. It was an awful spiral that he'd gone through, Lily couldn't begin to imagine after a hundred and nineteen years how many things were piled up in the dark corner of Cassidy's mind. He seemed to be completely consumed by them, and it was beginning to feel a bit naive for Lily to just throw a few blood bags at him and expect him to be back to his normal self she knew.

Cassidy turned to her more, his face was hard as stone, and his stare was intimidating, "So yer tellin' me Jesse really did believe ye were dead." He tested. Lily nodded simply, "Yes." She said, as convincing as possible. "Hm." Cassidy stated, "N'yer two little connected thing couldn't tell him that y'weren't dead?" With her heartbeat suddenly increasing, Lily felt her throat tighten. Cassidy brought up a good point. If Jesse and Lily could feel an influx of emotions from each other, surely Jesse would've been able to tell whether Lily had truly died. Shaking her head, Lily struggled to find the right words, but Cassidy spoke before she could anyway, "So Jesse lied to me. N'now _you_ just lied to me." He stated. Lily felt his angry eyes burning through her and she wasn't sure what the right thing to even say was, but it seemed Cassidy went off on his own, "Which means you **knew** Jesse told me y'were dead, n'ye couldn't've let me know y'weren't!?" He barked harshly, "Do you even know wot kind of shite went through my fuckin' mind!?" He asked. Quickly, Lily tried to get words in to try and defuse his angry state the best she could, "I'm sorry, Cass. I'm here now, okay? I tried-" She was quickly interrupted, her soft tone drowned out immediately by his much louder tone, "All ye ever give two fuckin' shits about me for is when ye need somethin'!" His face was redder by the second and his teeth were bared furiously.

Although Lily tried her best to remember that Cassidy was clearly damaged beyond her comprehension, and this was about more than just what he was yelling about, it was hard not to raise her voice to try and get words in, "That's not true." She stated loudly, but he was already talking over her, "I've been through all sortsa shite-" He said, "But with you n'Jess n'Tulip, lie after lie, over n'over." Cassidy shook his head and it looked like steam was going to come out of his ears, "I can't take any more." It was clear Lily had no control over this conversation, she bit her tongue long enough and she found herself quickly matching his volume of voice, "Have you even fucking listened to a word I've said?!" She shouted, "Tulip is _missing_!" Cassidy leaned forward to her quickly, "I don't give a **fuck** about Tulip!" Cassidy barked in her face, "Or Jesse, _or_ you!"

With a furious growl, Lily shook her head at him, "Shut the fuck up, Cassidy! You know _damn_ well that's not true, stop acting like such a victim-" Cassidy interrupted her again, his voice so loud it was hurting her ears, "It might've been a lie this time, but one day yer _all_ gonna die!" Lily's face stiffened, and the words built up inside of her vanished as Cassidy continued on his vicious rant, "N'I've been through it, many fuckin' times, I've lost more people than y'could _ever_ understand, so jus know I don't need ye 'ere showing me yer alive, 'cause one day I'll go through all this again, anyway! So spare me the fuckin' need to do it all over again and jus' fuck off n'leave me alone."

Cassidy's harsh words burned into Lily. Her face hadn't changed, her head moved back slightly as she struggled to believe he'd even said those words. She stared at his face - nearly purple in anger, his body trembling as he struggled to hold still. Of course, Lily knew he couldn't possibly have meant what he just said, but it didn't hurt any less, and it didn't prove that she was on the right path seeking Cassidy's help given the state he was in. With his eyes glaring into her, his chest puffed out as he panted like a wild animal, Lily tore her eyes from his, staring forward and shutting down completely. Soon after, the passenger door opened and slammed shut, shaking the entire truck into a rocking motion. Lily's eyes caught Cassidy as he already marching across the road back to the crackhouse.

It was frustrating seeing Cassidy's inner demons getting the better of him, turning him into this awful monster that Lily didn't recognize. Feeling her insides boiling suddenly, Lily glanced to the pile of blood bags on the passenger floor. She turned the key in the ignition and rolled down the window, driving out to the road and tossing all the bags out towards where Cassidy was walking. Leaning out the window, Lily shouted as loud as she could, "Fuck you!" She hit him with two of the blood bags and he kept walking, unfazed by her attempt to piss him off, "Enjoy sticking your dick with meth, you selfish piece of shit! I'm **not** scraping you up off the street again." Cassidy kept walking, lifting a middle finger up with his back still to her.

It took every part of Lily's being not to run him over with the truck first before driving away, but somehow, she resisted the temptation.


	21. Things Are Gonna Change

As the sound of the truck revved directly behind him, Cassidy felt another blood bag hit the back of his head, smacking to the ground. He stared at the crackhouse he walked towards, the sound of the engine becoming more distant by the second. It took him longer than it should've to realize he hadn't been moving forward anymore. He stood in the middle of the road he'd been crossing, a trail of blood bags behind him as his fury became less and his head quit spinning quite as fast.

This was a crossroads for him, he quickly realized. Lily had managed to get some blood into him when she'd found him unconscious - the first of any he'd had in many days, giving him the first bit of stability compared to what he'd been doing to himself instead. His eyes moved down briefly to his arms, covered in track marks from the copious amounts of substances he'd been injecting into himself.

There had finally been some bit of clarity in him when he first woke up, but it would take more than a couple of bags of blood to undo all the damage he'd done to himself the last few days. He'd been his nastiest when he first came to, and unfortunately it was Lily who had to endure it.

His emotions took over again as he groaned in frustration and eyes shot back up to the crackhouse, but Cassidy caught himself unable to begin taking another step towards it.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the routine of drinking and overdosing to death, it could've been a month for all he knew - but it had only been about four days now. He could easily sink into this slump for an indefinite amount of time like he had so many times before.

As his head slowly began feeling more straight by the second, he huffed. It was either going back to smoking crack and sticking himself with heroin, or turning around and grabbing all the bags of blood Lily had tossed after him. He'd been completely broken when he was told Lily was dead. He mourned the only way he knew how - getting as numb as possible, and so out of touch with reality that his mind would simply shut down. It was the second closest thing to a true death for him.

You'd think after the amount of times he'd been through this, it would be easier, but the case seemed to be the opposite for him. He felt so weak and pathetic, only causing his addiction to anything that could make him as numb as possible more intense. However, the reality was Lily wasn't dead, and he had to stop acting like it. He had to stop acting like he didn't care about any of them.

With a growl of frustration to himself, Cassidy looked out to the end of the street, as if he was expecting Lily to have stopped, but she was nowhere in sight. With his shoulders dropping, he hung his head. Behind him, a car was trying to drive by. They honked at him, the horn blaring loudly at Cassidy who stood, unmoving in the middle of the road. Cassidy hadn't moved, let alone flinched. FInally, the vehicle maneuvered their way around Cassidy, running over one of the blood bags on the road and causing it to burst like a water balloon. The scent from the blood that had just been spattered along the road moved towards him immediately. Taking a deep breath in, Cassidy felt the encouragement he needed. Cassidy gathered all the rest of them he could, throwing them back one by one as his eyes began scouring a half decent looking house with no one home.

* * *

It had been a good couple of hours now. A couple hours Lily had wasted just sitting in the truck cab feeling awful for herself, feeling utterly hopeless and even more useless. She'd parked the truck on a back road, staring out to the river as she struggled to find a direction to go with little to no information to where Tulip's whereabouts could potentially even be. Grabbing at the pack of cigarettes she'd already almost finished, she grabbed another, sparking it up as she let out a choppy breath.

The longer she stared and the harder she thought, the hotter her eyes got. Lily caught her reflection in the rearview mirror, staring into her own eyes that felt so foriegn. She was weak. The days spent in Angelville had been grueling on their own, but the few days spent in the pit didn't do her any good on top of it all. Not to mention the night before she'd spent spectating in the Tombs. She finally felt like she was going to break down from it all. The runes she'd made sat in her pockets, and she wondered if any of them had worked. With all the pain she was in, it was hard to tell whether the discomfort was the trails she'd been through in Angelville, or whether any of it was from her reliance to Cassidy's blood.

It had been several minutes before she realized she was crying. Finally, she laid her head against the steering wheel, letting herself cry as hard as she felt she needed to. In the midst of her breakdown, she felt her pocket buzz. Her eyes were still closed and she felt tears stream out of them before she pushed her forehead off the steering wheel and reached for whatever phone it was that was getting a call.

It was her own phone, and through her tear filled eyes, she saw a blurry image on her phone to realize it was Jesse who was calling her. "Ugh." She groaned to herself, her nose clogged as she sniffled a few times in hopes to suppress her runny nose.

Lily lifted the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"What's goin' on?" Jesse asked, "I'm taking it these crazy emotions are comin' from you, since I have no reason to be cryin' over this shitty sandwich I just made for myself." He teased, "Or maybe I do." Jesse added, staring down at the miserable sandwich he'd put together.

"Ahh." Lily groaned again, looking up to the ceiling of the truck cab as tears streamed down her face, "I can't find Tulip." Lily stated with a disheartened and shaky voice. She stared at the cigarette between her fingers, the ash longer than the rest of the smoke that was left as she flicked it outside the window of the truck before taking another puff.

"Well, relax." Jesse said softly, "It's only been, what.." He checked a clock hanging crooked on the kitchen wall in the house back in Angelville, "Five... six hours? Tulip's been missing for far longer before." Jesse laughed softly, but Lily wasn't enlightened. She was already shaking her head, as if Jesse could see, her eyes moving around the environment outside as her mouth was stuck in a crooked shape, "I found her car, and her phone was in it, but the keys were laying on the ground in the driver's side."

Lily could tell by the long pause before her brother spoke that he too realized how unusual that was for Tulip. She would never willingly leave her car far behind, but her keys to be inside of it too was a sure red flag.

Jesse let out a deep sigh, "Ah, shit." He groaned, "I can see why you're so worked up, then." Sniffling again, Lily dragged her jacket sleeve against her nose, "Well _that_, and I realized she was coming here to find Cassidy. Probably because she felt bad about forgetting about my reliance to his blood." Jesse listened intently, his sister's stuffed up and nasally voice something he wasn't used to hearing often, "And then," Lily continued, "I found Cass, but he'd overdosed on God knows what." Lily scoffed, staring at the blood stains on her jeans as well as Jesse's truck seat from Cassidy slicing his hand open and shoving it at her. Lily's voice was strained as she struggled not to cry some more, "And so I got him a _bit_ coherent, and I thought for sure he'd help me figure out what happened to her, but instead we got into a big fucking fight and I almost ran him over with your truck." Lily finished off the last of the cigarette and flicked it out the window.

Jesse couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, "Hm." He hummed, "Well, I'm sure he's just pissed off that I had to lie to him to get him to leave. Too bad that cat's outta the bag." Jesse sighed. Lily closed her eyes, her shoulders dropping, "I'm sorry Jess, but I had no choice. I thought he'd be able to put together some of the missing pieces, but he didn't give me anything."

"No, I get it." Jesse assured, "It's fine. He probably just needs some time to cool off." Lily swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering how angry and harsh Cassidy had been. The hurtful words he'd said still stung in her, but Jesse was right. This wasn't the first time Cassidy had stormed off from Lily. He'd always come back around - but she'd never seen him in such a downward spiral. The worst she'd seen Cassidy before that was when he'd come home and told her that he'd killed his own sun. There'd been lots of drugs involved even then, but not nearly as much as there had been now. Jesse heard his sister let out another choppy sigh of frustration, "Listen," Jesse began, "If you can't get anything before you're supposed to be back tomorrow morning, I'll convince gran'ma to let me come help you. Somehow... Might have to give in to bringing Jody with me or somethin'..." Jesse began thinking out loud on how he'd convince their grandmother to let that happen, it wouldn't be easy, but as long as there was something in it for her, she'd usually settle.

With Lily still quiet, Jesse tried to keep conversation going, "Did you give her car a really good look?" He asked.

"No.. No, not really." Lily admitted truthfully. Things had gotten out of hand quick, and she hadn't really pulled apart Tulip's car at all.

"Go check again, see if there's anything else that might give us an idea, alright?" Her brother said, "I mean, worst case - you don't find anything, it's fine. If there's one place Tulip's sure to come back to it's her car. Might have to just stake it out there for a bit." Jesse stated confidently.

Lily sighed, thankful for her brother's reassurance and guidance, but not feeling any less useless. With his heart sinking a bit, Jesse adjusted himself where he stood in the middle of the kitchen in the Angelville house, staring out a dirty and broken window as he couldn't help but feel the heavy emotions Lily was feeling, "Lil, things are gonna change for us real soon, okay?" He said softly, "I promise."

With her hand on the keys in the ignition, Lily nodded, "I'll call you when she turns up." She stated, trying to throw some confidence back at her brother.

* * *

Cassidy had found a house empty of anyone around to break into, and made himself at right at home. He cleaned up from the horrible state he'd been in, and even got some fresh new clothes out of it. He'd found a new pair of sunglasses, too, keeping the ones Lily had given him in his pocket for safe return. He'd downed every single blood bag Lily had thrown at him, feeling more at ease and straightened out by the second. He was now making his way back towards Tulip's car, hoping that Lily - and maybe even Tulip - would have ended up back there.

When Cassidy came back to where Tulip's car had been parked, he immediately noticed the Angelville truck. With his heart skipping a beat, he took a quick breath in, not prepared yet to approach Lily the right way. He knew he had to apologize, but he hated having to even begin thinking about the things he'd said to Lily and the way he'd acted. Finally, he gained the courage to continue walking towards her. But as he walked closer towards the car and truck, he still couldn't see her. Using all other senses, Cassidy listened intently, not hearing her either. Finally, he took a big breath in, knowing that if there was one thing he could do, it was smell Lily's beautiful scent.

When he took his deep breath, he wasn't greeted with the mouthwatering and heart wrenching scent he was expecting. Instead, there was an overwhelming smell - one that stopped him in his tracks. Feeling his stomach turn and his heart drop, he felt all sorts of emotions arise before he realized the fury in him came back to him tenfold within seconds.

That smell.

That _fucking_ smell...

It was Eccarius.


	22. Nothing Like Them

As Eccarius approached his large not-so-humble abode he groaned in bitter frustration. The fact he was out during the day was enough of a struggle for him, let alone having to do what he had ordered of his faithful and dedicated followers to do himself instead. He was able to track Cassidy days ago when he first arrived back into New Orleans, but from the distance he stayed away from him, he was both surprised and disappointed that Lily was nowhere to be found.

Since the moment he'd first found her, he'd known how different she was. When he'd smelt the scent of another vampire on her, he was weary to do anything rash - worried for what kind of vampire would already have claimed his possession on this specimen that was Lily.

Eccarius believed that humans were merely just as what he had created Les Enfants Du Sang for - followers, servants - nothing but means to feed. The food chain, with a dark twist. Eccarius discovered long ago how different each feed on a human was, but the most powerful of his discoveries over the years was after he turned his first human.

The act of tasting another vampire's blood the first time was a simple accident, but what Eccarius had felt after that - the power, the strength, the abilities he never knew he possessed - it changed his entire existence forever. Unfortunately, each vampire would only suffice as a good amount of the amplified energy for a few weeks at most, making them just as disposable as an average human to him after so long.

The process of turning humans into vampires and draining them was getting old after many years. What Eccarius craved was _infinite_ power - from something that would never deplete while providing the most potent source of the energy he desired. It was clear that Lily wasn't just human. She had unique properties about her - more complex than the average human - the scent wafting off of her was enough to make that clear. Eccarius was convinced she would be the one.

But when he'd first met Lily, her scent was laced with the smell of another vampire - and Eccarius was positive that he was the only one in New Orleans. He'd known none of the ones he'd created had gotten away, for he drained each and every one of them before burning them to ash. Afraid to start a war, Eccarius left Lily alone until he could meet the vampire he'd smelt on her the night he first found her. Though, when Eccarius met Cassidy it was clear the two of them were polar opposites, and when Eccarius discovered how basic Lily and Cassidy's relationship was, he realized that Cassidy was naive to the potential of what possessing Lily could hold. It was a waste - in Eccarius' eyes.

Eccarius knew that Cassidy was inferior compared to himself, but he was very unpredictable. Eccarius still knew very little of him and Lily, making it a hard operation to get his hands around her - and though a miserable and underwhelming drug addict, Cassidy still proved to be a strong force to be reckoned with.

With or without him around, however, it had been easy for Eccarius to get into Lily's head, manipulating her state of mind - proving that she was unsuspecting to her own potential and power. It made Eccarius' desire for her stronger, knowing just how easy it would be once he would have her alone. When they'd vanished a couple weeks ago, Eccarius had been very angry that he'd let the opportunity get away - unsure of just how many years he'd have to wait before discovering someone as unique as Lily had been.

But finally, he'd caught Cassidy's smell again. He knew Lily couldn't be far behind - this was his chance and he wouldn't let it get away again...

With a swift push, Eccarius opened the large door into the dark basement that was empty - where just three of his faithful followers waited intently. They perked up, seeing Lily lying unconscious in his arms, her limp body bouncing only slightly with every smooth stride Eccarius took.

"You fools." He spat, "I ask but of _one_ thing from you. **One thing**." He barked, "And you instead make a larger mess than needed."

They all bowed in unison, their noses to the floor, "We're sorry, master." One of them whined, "We're sorry."

Eccarius turned his back to them, his mouth twisted as he struggled to maintain composure as he laid Lily down on a couch, leaning over her as she breathed shallowly. She would be out for a while longer.

Another one spoke from behind Eccarius, his voice laying flat to the floor he was leaned over to, "We thought the first one was her... beautiful girl, flowery name.."

The three of them flinched at once when there was a smash. Eccarius had thrown something across the large room, "Lily, _not_ Tulip, you imbeciles!" He shouted. With a scoff, he began walking towards a shelf along the wall, taking off his cloak he'd had around him to shelter his skin from the sun, "How hard can it possibly be to simply remember a _name_." He hissed.

It was silent for a few moments, Eccarius rifled through some shelving, gathering various things as he spoke with his back still to his minions, "Be gone. All of you." He ordered. The three of them scurried out as if they had tails to tuck between their legs, each of them muttering apologies under their breath as they kept their eye contact away from Eccarius while they left the basement.

He turned, his arms full of a variety of things as he faced towards where Lily laid unconscious. Taking a deep breath, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips, "Alone at last."

* * *

When Lily finally gained consciousness she took a sharp breath in. Greeted by darkness once again, she was certain everything she'd imagined over the last day was a dream. Judging by how different it was whether her eyes were open or closed, she was convinced she was back in the pit in Angelville.

Each second, things got a little more clear in her head. If she was in the pit, she wouldn't be as comfortable. She wasn't lying on cold, damp concrete - it was cushioned... certainly _not_ the pit. Still lying down, she moved her head, her eyes trying their best to adjust in the dark.

With a grunt, she adjusted herself slightly. Finally, her eyes caught something - there were candles, giving only a flicker of light where they were scattered across the room. It was a larger space, she discovered. The smell - it was familiar to her... and suddenly, she felt like she recognized where she was. She knew she'd been here before, but she wasn't able to put her finger on where exactly it was yet. After some more time, her eyes were able to capture faint shapes.

Taking another deep breath in, it instantly hit her.

Metallic and sour.

The realization came to her the same time as his voice spoke out to her, "Ahhh," Eccarius' velvety voice sang, "At last. You're awake." With her eyes trying to find where his voice came from, Lily raised a hand to her face, her head throbbing a good amount, "Eccarius." She groaned, realizing she was in the basement she'd visited once - though it had been full of people the last time she was here, full of much more life and light - well, _candle_ light. Right now it was quiet and hardly lit with any candles.

Her mind started racing, the last thing she remembered was unlocking Tulip's car as she hardly had begun rifling through it...

"You are looking..." Eccarius stopped on his words, his mouth crooked as he examined her, "Just awful, really." He stated honestly. Finally, Lily was able to see the outline of Eccarius. He sat in a large wooden chair, shaped almost like a throne with a back that was much taller than himself as he sat in it, not too far from where she laid.

Suddenly, Tulip's disappearance was explained perfectly. With a deep breath, Lily adjusted herself more upright slightly, "Where is she?" Lily asked, "Where's Tulip?" She specified. Eccarius ignored her question entirely, and in the shadows that Lily watched as carefully as possible, she could see him raise a glass to his lips as he hummed, sipping from his cup as he slowly lowered it back down at the large arm rest at his side, "A little bird told me your vampire boyfriend is more of a druggie than he is a supportive partner, it seems."

"You want _Cassidy_?" Lily asked. With a choppy exhale, Lily shook her head, "Well, you're using the wrong kind of bait, Eccarius. He doesn't give a fuck about either of us - me _or_ Tulip." Lily knew that wasn't true, but she went with it anyway, "If you had a mountain of drugs, _maybe_ he'd be on his feet long enough to sniff them out, but even then, I doubt it. He's a fucking mess. Go see for yourself."

"Oh I have." Eccarius hissed. Lily felt herself freeze for a moment, not liking the tone of Eccarius' voice when he'd just said that. There was a creak as Eccarius leaned forward in his seat, a faint flicker of candle light capturing his face so Lily could finally catch a glimpse of him. His eyes were wide and he looked entirely pleased with himself, "I've been watching him very closely." He rasped quietly, "And you're right. He doesn't care. Which makes this entire process all the more enjoyable. Without any threat I had to previously consider."

Lily felt her head pound a little harder, closing her eyes as she massaged at them. Her heart picked up a pace, realizing the hole she'd just dug herself into by shit talking Cassidy, "You don't want Cassidy." She stated out loud.

"No." Eccarius sang, a smile across his lips, "I don't want Cassidy." There was another creaking sound as Eccarius sat upright in his throne-like chair once again. Moving her hands from her eyes, Lily looked up, her head still slumped over, "Then what do you want from me and Tulip?" She asked flatly.

It seemed Lily striked some sort of nerve, "It's not Tulip." Eccarius spat bitterly, raising his cup to his mouth again as he took a big gulp of what Lily could only assume to be the one thing she ever saw Eccarius drinking - blood, "That was a mistake." He hissed, "It's like the saying, if you want something done right - do it yourself. Hmph." He scoffed.

Lily tilted her head, not sure what he meant, "Alright..." She dragged, "Then what do you want from _me_, Eccarius?" Lily asked. The sound of Eccarius gulping filled the large empty room, his glass moving from his mouth back to the armrest again as he exhaled as if he'd just quenched a deep, twisted kind of thirst, "It's not what I _want_ from you, Lily." He paused, and Lily found herself moving her head slightly wondering if he was ever going to continue. "Rather what I can give to you. To _us_." He finally said.

With her brow crinkling, Lily looked towards where Eccarius sat. The unusual way he spoke was cryptic enough already, asking him direct questions and getting vague answers back just made things all the more confusing.

Eccarius smiled, "We've got a lot to get ready for. Time is of the essence, and I simply can't wait any longer." He declared in a sing-songy manner. With another groan, Lily shook her head, ensuring her tone had a bit of a bite to it, "I don't know what it is you're going on about, Eccarius, but I'm not doing _anything_ for you until I know Tulip is safe." Once again, Eccarius ignored her, so she spoke again, demanding an answer, "If you don't want anything from her, then just let Tulip go." She ordered.

Eccarius turned his head, "And risk any other potential threats to arise from her freedom?" He shook his head and let out a feeble laugh, "I don't think so."

"So she's alive?" Lily asked, "She's _here_?"

"Perhaps, if things go smoothly, we'll set her free after.." Eccarius sighed.

Lily's patience was wearing thin, "After _what_?" She raised her voice slightly to show just how impatient she was getting.

"Don't act up on me, now." Eccarius sang.

Lily scoffed, unable to remain calm, "I don't have time for your theatrics, you prick." She spat, speaking at a much faster paced speed, laced with the sign of short temper, "Since we last saw each other I had a _serious_ fuckery of a family reunion. And not a family reunion where your grandmother knits you a sweater and bakes your favorite pecan pie, either." Lily huffed, "A family reunion where my wicked grandmother fucking cursed me." She dragged, "If I'm not back where I said I would be, she can kill me with a simple twist of a dirty napkin."

A bit more than intrigued, Eccarius listened intently, sitting still in his chair as Lily rolled her eyes, her face unimpressed, "So I'll give you a straight answer unlike the ones you're givin' me right now, dickhead. I'll be dead soon. I'm _useless_ to you."

Eccarius believed her. He didn't have a doubt in her words, "This curse..." He started, "Tell me about it." With a grunt of frustration, Lily swung her head and shifted her weight, struggling to remain as calm as possible, "Jesus fucking Christ." She swore.

"Tell me." Eccarius demanded from his chair.

Lily raised her hand with her scar on the palm, "A bloody kind of curse." With another scoff of annoyance, she dropped her hand, "I don't know, Eccarius, all I know is she has full control over me. Any minute now, she'll kill me." Lily knew she had several hours left before her Angelville curfew, but Eccarius didn't have to know that. Maybe this curse would work in her favor, if Eccarius believed Lily would be dead soon, anyways.

Eccarius was more than curious, "_Bloody_?" He repeated her descriptive word, his eyes still locked onto her scar on her palm she'd shown. With a deep sigh, Lily ran her hand through her hair, "Yep." Her lips popped and her patience wore thin towards the last of what she had of it.

"Well, that's utterly perfect news." Eccarius sang, his mouth in a wide grin, "If the curse is tied to your blood, then when you are changed a-new, it will get reverse of this awful imprecation that has but tied you down." He said, "It seems I am saving you in more ways than initially intended."

Eccarius' words rang in Lily's head as she struggled to translate his confusing way of talking.

"Changed... _a-new_?" Lily repeated slowly, her eyes squinting slightly, "What did you-"

"Lily, don't you see?" Eccarius interrupted her, standing up for the first time off of the large throne-like chair as he stepped slowly towards her. His cape around his shoulders followed each smooth stride he took her way, balancing the cup in his one hand.

Not into the idea of his approaching, Lily adjusted herself to have quicker access to jump on her feet, but as she moved forward slightly in the spot she sat in, she felt a tug on her arm. Her eyes looked down to her forearm. It was still so dark, she couldn't make out what was on it at first. Slowly, she turned her arm to hit any faint bit of candle light it could. At the same time, she used her other hand to grab it. It was tape. Something was taped on her arm.

In the back of her mind, she heard Eccarius' steps drawing closer towards her, but her mind was too preoccupied by trying to process the new discovery of what was attached to her. Her eyes dragged slowly from the tape on her arm, noticing a thin strip in the air, taking far too long to realize it was a tube. Until Lily touched it, she wasn't sure. Slowly, her eyes moved, following the tube connected as it disappeared into the dark corner where no candle light hit. Her hand trembled slightly, and she felt her head begin to spin as she grabbed the tube, tugging at it once as a thin, metallic stand fell from the dark corner onto Lily's side.

Lily's eyes followed the stand as it fell, the rest of her body not moving as she saw the blood bag that was connected to her fall off the stand and hit the ground with a distinct and shallow flop to the ground, still attached by the needle and tube stuck into her arm.

With her eyes glued to the bag of her own blood on the ground, she felt her head spinning more and more out of control. It was hard to resist the urge to pass out, but she managed. Suddenly, she was even more disgusted by the blood presumably in Eccarius' cup.

Finally, she was able to grab a grip mentally. In a quick motion she used her other hand to rip out the needle in her arm, throwing it to the ground by the bag of her blood, a cold chill going through her entire body. While she stared at the bag, tube and needle now laying on the ground, she noticed that Eccarius' steps had stopped and his shoes were now in her sight. Reluctantly, she dragged her eyes upwards to him - _very_ carefully.

He'd stopped just before her and she stared up at him. There was a smile across his lips, a look of distinct satisfaction and pride, "I'm doing for you what your pathetic excuse of a life partner Cassidy could not bring himself to do." His tone was soft, velvety and sweet, but Lily's stomach was turning more with each word. A sour taste in her mouth made her lips twist with bitter hatred. The candle light flickers and caught the wild look in his eyes as Lily narrowed hers up at him. Turning her head slightly one way, she ensured her voice was as serious as she could make it, "That is _not_ happening." Lily stated.

He was silent, and so was she. The look on his face was pure content, his chest was puffed out with satisfaction of success - as if he'd already won. Lily could see every inch of his ego bursting out the seams of his awful, cliche apparel. She shifted her glance just slightly to Eccarius' golden goblet in his hand - an ornate and antique-like glass that he drank blood out of - _her_ blood, she assumed. She shifted her eyes back up to his. It stayed quiet and still for too long, when suddenly, Lily knew it was time for her to fight. Before she could stand up on her feet, she felt the tension. First it was distance ringing in her ears, slowly growing louder. Then as it got at its peak of volume, it was like a physical pain in her head. The awful, pressure building up as Eccarius' eyes burned into hers.

"**_Relax_**." He ordered.

She'd felt this before. The times she'd been around him. She'd lost track of time, she'd talked more than what she wanted to, she felt nervous for no good reason...

There _had_ been a reason, all along. She just hadn't noticed it. But now, she was much more aware. She knew when someone or some_thing _was trying to get into her. If the Hell experience of Angelville taught her one thing - it was that.

She knew if she gave in that the ringing would stop, the pain would stop - but then he'd be in. Just as he had before, and just as her grandmother had the once when she first got into Angelville. But she proved she was able to resist her grandmother. She could resist Eccarius, too.

Immediately, Eccarius felt her resistance, something that was new to him. After the couple of times he'd met Lily she had been an easy target to manipulate with this amplified vampire powers. This was the first time he'd experienced anything of a struggle. Normally, it was an open door to her mind, but that door had seemed to shut since their last encounter.

Eccarius was surprised when Lily stood up on her feet, able to resist Eccarius' attempts to put her into a relaxed mental state as he had before.

Eccarius spoke between his teeth, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her, "Don't misbehave, Lily. I really want this to be as _pleasant_ of a transition as possible." He hissed.

Lily felt her brows narrow as her blood boiled to the peaking point. She was going to kick his ass. When Lily swung for a punch, Eccarius had seemed to vanish completely, causing her to lose balance when her swing didn't land on anything. She turned, not seeing him anywhere in the dark basement. From behind her, she hadn't noticed he'd appeared again, seemingly from thin air, his voice catching her completely off guard.

"I didn't want to do this." He hissed while Lily turned around to face him again, "But you leave me no choice." He could see the fury in Lily's face as she went for another punch, Eccarius easily avoiding every attempt Lily took to land anything onto him.

Eccarius may not have been able to overtake her mentally, but the physical power was still on his side. Not long after a few swings at him, he grabbed Lily's fist, stopping her in place as he quickly shoved her to the concrete ground. Things were happening too quickly for Lily to properly process - Eccarius' reaction rate was far superior to Lily's. With the wind knocked out of her, she laid on the ground, groaning as she struggled to get up as fast as possible.

In the blink of an eye, she felt a shove. Suddenly, she was in the large wooden, throne-like chair that Eccarius had sat in just before. As she fought to stand back up, she noticed that there were already restraints tied around her wrists and ankles, all done in lightning speed as Eccarius moved faster than Lily's eyes could see, even if it wasn't as dark as it was.

She let out a frustrated cry, her teeth bared as she shook against the restraints. Lily stopped shortly after, her head hanging in bitter defeat as she felt her mouth twist, her stomach turning as she began to feel nauseous, "Eccarius," She moaned, "There's _billions_ of people in this world... why would you go out of your way to force me? Especially when there's an entire cult of brainwashed zombies who'd more than likely do it _willingly_?" Lily had seen a glimpse into Eccarius' life - a large following of people, dressed tackily, want-to-be vampire attendees who dressed as cliche as imaginable.

Eccarius smiled, entertained by her naiveness, his golden goblet of blood still in his hand as he seemed unphased by Lily's feeble attempts to fight against him, "You're nothing like them, Lily." Once again, he raised the goblet to his mouth, taking a sip of her blood he'd syphoned out of her with an exhale of pleasure, "Not even you realize that." He added.

With a choppy exhale, Lily yanked on her wrists that were tied to the arms of the chair - unable to hardly move them, let alone devise a plan out of the situation. She was beginning to feel more helpless by the second. "Mmm." Eccarius moaned, finishing off the remainder of blood in his cup, "There's something so different drinking directly from the source." He sang, bending over to grab the blood bag that had fallen to the ground, "But I'm afraid even after the many years of experience, I struggle to restrain myself from going too far." He ripped the top of the blood bag open with his mouth, pouring what was inside of it into his goblet as a top up.

Lily felt her stomach turn into a tighter knot, the disturbance inside of her showing on the outside as she struggled to resist from vomiting. The candle light flickered barely enough for Lily to keep an eye on Eccarius as he stepped towards her again, the blood bag was emptied but he'd taken it upon himself to open it up entirely and lick it clean - to be sure nothing went to waste. With a moan of satisfaction, Eccarius exhaled. With every sound he made, Lily felt herself grow both sicker and more scared.

"It will surely be my hardest endeavor not to drain you completely when I transform you into a superior version." Eccarius declared proudly.

Using every ounce of courage left in her, Lily looked up to Eccarius, "Get the fuck away from me." She warned.

Her resistance only encouraged Eccarius. Maybe it was the constant abundance of people begging him to do it that he'd grown sick of that routine. Something about this new idea he'd come up with to use Lily as a means of power was both intriguing and exciting to him. Not to mention the satisfaction of knowing he'd pried her from the hands of another vamp. Leaning over, Eccarius reached his hand towards Lily's throat.

When Eccarius laid his hand on her, she knew it was an opportunity. She'd done it before, not many times, but she knew she was capable of more than she understood. If she could make him sleep like she had with TC and Cassidy, it may be her last and only chance to get out of this mess. Once she felt his cold against her skin, she didn't spare another second.

_It felt like Lily was running a thousand miles an hour when she ran into a thick door, bursting through it as it ripped off it's hinges, falling down with a deafening boom as she rushed into Eccarius' mind._

_It was a quick flash - she saw Eccarius' followers - Les Enfants Du Sang as he titled them - watching as he changed one follower into a vampire. The crowd around him cheered, falling to his feet with eager hope that one day that person he'd just sunk his teeth into would too be them. But once the audience was gone, Eccarius would drain the vampire he'd just created, letting his cult believe they'd gone onwards to other things. _

_He was a mass murderer, changing humans to vampires only to drain them once they've been changed. He gained more power. He had unique properties and abilities that Lily wasn't even aware was possible. _

_Desperately, Lily wanted to know what Eccarius had done with Tulip, trying to direct herself in the chaos of Eccarius' mind until she was able to see. Eventually, she found it. She could feel Eccarius resisting her, trying to push her back out the door she'd busted down to get inside his mind, but she stayed strong enough to venture deeper into him. She saw. Eccarius had Tulip in the house - upstairs in a study room, under a carpet there was an entrance to where he'd placed Tulip. _

_The resistance was getting stronger, but so was Lily as she began searching for anything else. Suddenly, she was able to see herself - trapped in Eccarius' basement. Held captive like a slave to him. This moment was happening now, except Lily could see a different perspective, from Eccarius' mind. __Eccarius was getting stronger with each drop of Lily's blood that Eccarius was consuming. Lily could see that now. Once she was changed into a vampire, Eccarius assumed her blood would only get stronger. If an average human would provide ample power when changed to a vampire, Eccarius could only imagine what Lily's would be like. He wasn't going to kill her, he was going to keep her captive for an eternity as a power source. And once he was full of power from her, there was no saving her..._

_She made eye contact with Eccarius, "Sleep." She said. But nothing happened. "Sleep!" She tried again, desperate for her attempts to work, "SLEEP!" She yelled._

_It proved to not work, and soon after, Lily lost control._

In a powerful shift, Lily was pulled out of Eccarius' mind. What she'd seen at the end, had it been Eccarius' intentions or had it been a vision of the possible future? She wasn't sure, but either or, it wasn't good. What Lily and Cassidy had initially thought of Eccarius was entirely wrong. He was much more dangerous than he made himself out to be. Luckily, Eccarius was as alarmed as Lily was in the moment.

Eccarius staggered back, his cup of Lily's blood dropping to the floor with a loud clang sound as it bounced off the ground, spilling all of the blood that was being held inside of it.

His red eyes were wide and his face wasn't hiding the amount of shock he felt. "How-" He stuttered, "How did you-"

"You're wrong about me." Lily growled defensively, "I _do_ realize that I'm nothing like them. Don't make me prove that point even further, cause I can blow your head off in an instant with one proper move." She bluffed. With her eyes glued onto him, she made sure not to blink, waiting to see if he dared try anything else. If he believed her bluff or whether he'd call bullshit on her last defense.

With her heart racing, Lily watched as Eccarius stood more upright on his feet, his face moving from the shocked state to one that was more hardened and full of threat. Before Lily could process it, he was gone. A brief moment after, Lily gasped, suddenly worried when she felt a sharp sting in her neck - but it was too subtle to be Eccarius' teeth. He was behind her, his mouth against her ear as he hissed quietly, "But you _are_ still human, subjecting you to average weaknesses such as basic anesthetic. I proved that fact earlier." He growled, referring to what he'd done to knock her out when he'd first collected her not long before.

Lily felt her mind and body slow drastically, her mouth hanging open as the syringe stuck inside her emptied quickly into her neck. "You... sonnnova... bitch..." She dragged. As she slowly slipped into a sleep, she wondered just how many times a person could be put unconscious before one day they wouldn't wake up again.


	23. Quite a Disturbance

As Lily slowly came to, Lily felt her eyes struggle to open up properly, it felt like sandbags were attached to her lids. Slowly, her brain tried to process her surroundings with what little she could hear, since her sight clearly wasn't the sense to lean on for the moment.

With her head pounding, Lily shifted, "Hmph." She groaned. There was something inside of her mouth, and she noticed the tape covering over her lips, ensuring her silence. In the distance, she heard mumbling - it sounded like a large group of people, but she couldn't make out any distinct voices or words.

Moving herself slowly, she quickly realized she was restrained to whatever she was laid down on. Finally, she was able to open her eyes, though her blurry vision wasn't much of a help in the dark room. As she moved her head slowly to one side, she noticed more and more people each second her eyes grew better focus. There was a crowd - one she recognized almost immediately. She'd seen it here before. The people here weren't wearing clothing - more like costumes. Cliche and tacky costumes. Blending into the cult-like group Eccarius had created - Les Enfants Du Sang. These people followed him with desperate dedication. It was sad.

With another groan, Lily shifted her head back to center, her eyes closed again as she scrunched her face in annoyance and discomfort, wondering how the Hell she was going to get out of this one. She began moving her jaw in efforts to loosen the tape around her lower half of her face.

As her senses began coming to her much better, she realized the voices from people were surrounding her, leaving her to be a spectacle in the middle of the group. Eccarius' voice shocked Lily, it sounded like he was from a good distance from her for the time being, "I want to thank you all for your devotion and loyalty to ensure you could all attend this spontaneous gathering." He gloated from the middle landing of the staircase leading down to the basement, his followers below staring up at him in awe. Lily didn't have to see Eccarius to know he was beaming with pride. He obviously created Les Enfants Du Sang for more reasons than what Lily had seen - more than just a means for him to create vampires to fuel him to a powerful state - he could do that to any average human if he wanted. No, Eccarius created Les Enfants Du Sang because he loved his pedestal. He got off on being a God-like figure, and to have an audience to something like _this_ \- he couldn't resist.

With a bit more urgency, Lily moved her jaw faster, feeling the tape begin to lift from the edges. "I know we are not used to meetings while the sun is still present.." Eccarius went on, his smooth voice echoing through the large dungeon-like basement, "But this is a unique circumstance." He grinned proudly, "We need to act quickly, so for that, I am grateful for your immediate and short notice attendance."

There was a loud cheering sound from the crowd surrounding Lily, startling her slightly and putting into perspective just how many people were attending this terrible situation. Moving her jaw some more, she felt the tape beginning lifting.

Eccarius continued his script-like dialogue, "She has offered her life as a mortal to be an everlasting-"

Down below, Lily had finally managed to get half the tape off, spitting out the gag in her muth and lifting herself as much as she could with the retrains around her, screaming as loud as she could, "He's going to kill every last one of you!" She yelled, "I've seen it. I saw it happen. Every one of you he's changed, he's drained them of their _life!_ He uses the vampire blood to -mmhphh!" Eccarius moved faster than any human eye could process. In a split second, he was suddenly hanging over Lily's head, leaning over her as he stuffed the fabric back into her mouth and moved the tape over again. He moved his hand away from her as quickly as possible - still cautious that she might do what she'd done to him earlier when they'd connected skin to skin.

"Soon." Eccarius continued, standing upright, "Soon, you will be reborn." He declared loudly. It seemed her interrupted warning meant nothing to Eccarius' brain-washed minions. They all burst into a cheer once again, proving that much more how fucked Lily was. With her mouth completely covered again, Lily closed her eyes and let out another muffled scream - drowned out easily by the loud roaring of the crowd. She tossed around, feeling more helpless by the second as she rattled back and forth as hard as she could, feeling her ankles and wrists that were restrained begin to get raw from her worthless struggles.

Eccarius dipped his head down to Lily's ear, speaking so quietly that Lily could barely hear over the roaring shouts of celebration from the group of people surrounding them, "The less interruptions happening the sooner this will all be done with." He hissed, "I would much rather you behave yourself and stay awake rather than resort to another syringe in your neck." He threatened.

With the disgruntled noises coming from her throat, Lily squirmed against the table she was restrained to, trying her best to move any distance she could from Eccarius, her eyes looking up to him finally as she glared her red hot eyes up at him. She tried her best to break into him, but it proved difficult. There was a giant wall, something she couldn't get past, and he knew that she wasn't able. Smiling down onto her, he stepped away from the table again, ensuring his distance from her until entirely necessary as she continued onto his group of followers.

Lily drowned out his voice, trying to stay focused on figuring a way to save herself. Turning her head from one side to another, her eyes began searching the room, hoping for something to catch her attention enough to devise some sort of plan. Eccarius was too strong to get into his mind, Lily had blown her chance of overpowering him after he'd indulged in her blood - she had to use someone else. Anyone. Cranking her head around again, she studied the people around her. Eventually, she tilted her head back, trying to see if there was anything behind her. With her vision upside down, she did her best to study any of the faces to see if she could break into anyone.

So many people had coverings over their faces, it was difficult to see past. With her eyes moving more frantically, her heart suddenly seemed to stop. It was already disorienting with her vision upside down, but she knew she'd recognize a set of eyes far in the back. It was so dark, but these eyes stood out like a sore thumb to her. They peaked just barely over a set of sunglasses, and she felt her head begin to spin.

Suddenly, Eccarius' voice and everyone around her seemed to disappear entirely. It was silent, other than the sound of her own heart beating rapidly in her ears. She kept her sight glued to the eyes, afraid to even blink - with her head spinning more and more, she wondered if she was imagining what she was seeing. They were Cassidy's eyes.

Her ears began ringing and she was stuck in place. She'd lost track of everything around her with the sight of his eyes.

In an instant, things changed, like running into a brick wall, reality came back to her. Eccarius' voice was bellowing loudly once again and Lily was once again aware of the massive group of people surrounding her. When she looked back, the eye's she'd thought were Cassidy's were gone. Lily felt her throat tighten up, returning her head to centre as she closed her eyes and did her best to relax her mind. She couldn't have her mental state toying with her if she had a hope of surviving this. All she'd done was open up more questions. Nothing that just happened had helped her. She was losing her mind - she lost her composure.

Contrary to Lily's belief her mind was unstable and playing tricks, Cassidy _was_ there in that very room. His first instinct had been to bust down Eccarius' front door and confront him, but when he'd seen the large crowd of his followers arriving, something told Cassidy to approach things differently.

Keeping his distance, Cassidy stayed down the street away from Eccarius' property until one of his devoted followers crossed Cassidy's path. Cassidy ambushed him, covering himself in human blood and stealing his awful clothing. With confidence, Cassidy blended into the group filing into the basement of Eccarius' estate and stayed quiet. He'd just hoped his distance to the back of the crowd and the human blood covering him would be enough to disguise his natural vampire scent from Eccarius.

Since then, Cassidy dealt with one of his largest struggles just to stay still and unnoticed. The more Eccarius talked, and the more Cassidy understood his intention, the harder it was for Cassidy to remain in one place. He'd known Lily had seen him in the crowd, he hoped she would feel reassurance - Cassidy wasn't going to let anything happen to her, especially not in the hands of this asshole.

He'd devised a plan for a distraction to happen, but it seemed to be taking too long. One more word or move from Eccarius and Cassidy would be flying at him in the most fury he'd felt in a very long time.

Luckily, Eccarius was a fan of theatrics and an audience to gloat and boast in front of, his dialog moving on and seemingly never-endlessly. Eventually, Eccarius made his way towards Lily - who hadn't managed to come up with a way out of her position, staring up at him and trying her best to break his barrier around him and get into his mind. Eccarius seemed entirely unbothered at her attempts, further proving how much stronger he was.

Lily watched as Eccarius lifted a large, ornate dagger, and it seemed that everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation. "One final taste-" Eccarius declared loudly, his grin wide from ear to ear as Lily screamed and struggled as much as she could in the position she was pinned in, "Before your blood will never be the same." He was entirely unaffected by Lily's desperate efforts to struggle as he carefully dragged the dagger across her arm, to which she tensed in pain and fear. She moved her eyes towards the new cut in her arm as Eccarius held the dagger blade against it to coat it with her blood. He held it up to his mouth and dragged his tongue against it., cleaning it off completely with one smooth stride.

The sounds he'd made when he tasted Lily's blood sent a cold shiver of pure fear through Lily, and a rush of red hot fury through Cassidy, who was seconds away from blowing his cover. He wondered how he'd managed to stay so still up to this point.

The crowd cheered loudly again, drowning out Lily's muffled screams.

With the group's shouting louder than before, Eccarius smiled, his teeth stained pink from her blood as his eyes moved down to hers, still feeling the mental push from her as she attempted to penetrate his mind. He lowered himself so his mouth was to her ear, "Don't you see?" He hissed, "Every drop of your blood I consume I get _stronger_. You can't overpower me. I know you can see that now."

Even through the roaring crowd, Cassidy could hear Eccarius' voice perfectly. He felt his heart beating out of his chest and his mouth begin to salivate at the thought of ripping Eccarius' throat apart. As Lily squirmed in place, she clenched her eyes closed as Eccarius continued, "It's time."

With pure confidence, Eccarius could finally place his hands on Lily without worrying she'd have an easier access to get into his mind. He'd consumed plenty of her blood, making his defences sharper than ever. As soon as Eccarius had placed a finger on Lily, Cassidy knew he couldn't wait any longer. He pushed through the roaring crowd, his eyes glued to the back of Eccarius as Lily laid down, tied on display on the large wooden table while she squirmed as much as possible and shrieked as much as she could with the gag in her mouth. Lily felt like it was an out of body experience. There was no hope for her and she was about to die at the hands of this awful prick.

It was as if Cassidy was seeing it all in brutal slow motion, watching Eccarius' hands wrap around Lily's neck as he held her still in place with his insane strength.

Cassidy was nearly to the front of the crowd when suddenly, the door down to the basement opened at the top of the set of stairs.

Everything seemed to come to a sudden halt. Cassidy stopped in his tracks, the crowd simultaneously stopped their cheers and shouts, turning towards the interruption. It was another follower of Eccarius, one that was sent to stand guard at the front of the property. With his heart racing in his throat, Cassidy stared at Eccarius who was so incredibly close to him, Cassidy couldn't believe Eccarius hadn't noticed him yet. It was lucky for Cassidy that Eccarius' ego was much too large, he'd been entirely consumed by the giant spectacle of Lily he'd created to be in tune with much else around him. In bitter annoyance, Eccarius turned around, staring up to the entrance of the basement, "What?!" He barked in anger, furious at the interruption.

"There's a man at the door demanding to see you." The person announced, "Causing quite a disturbance. Said his name's Cassidy."

With a minor wave of relief, Cassidy was glad to hear his distraction finally made an appearance. He'd offered a homeless person some of his leftover drug stash to cause a scene and claim his name was Cassidy - and it seemed that the bum Cassidy had put up to it seemed to have a knack for cutting it close timing-wise. With his eyes shifting from the stranger at the entrance back to Eccarius, Cassidy held his breath - worried that he was too close to Eccarius now and he might blow his cover he'd held composure for so long to pull off.

Still held down in her vulnerable state, Lily felt her heart stop, her heartbeat racing loudly in her ears. She _knew_ her eyes had met Cassidy's just moments before. Had she imagined it? Was it a premonition? Or was he already in this room without Eccarius knowing somehow? Lily didn't move - not even her eyes. She didn't want to give away anything she might know. She just hoped Eccarius wouldn't do anything rash at this moment. She hoped he'd bite the bait and walk away.

"Hmm." Eccarius growled bitterly, turning his glance back to Lily, his hands wrapped tight around her neck. Lily looked into Eccarius' eyes as they glared into hers suspiciously, wondering to himself if she could have done anything to do with Cassidy's appearance. It was impossible - he'd had Lily in tight wraps the last several hours. Eccarius was surprised at Cassidy's appearance - and more than that, he was furious about the interruption. But he had no doubts that he'd be able to handle things.

The tensity of Eccarius staring down at Lily was almost too much to handle - for Lily _and_ Cassidy. Eccarius was unpredictable. No one in the room was certain what Eccarius' next move was. With a low growl, Eccarius hardly moved, his eyes burning down to Lily who laid on display for his demented fantasy to come true - but not like this, Eccarius thought, not with the threat of Cassidy. He'd handle him first, then get back to the enjoyment of what he'd planned for so long to do.

Lily flinched in surprise as Eccarius moved his hands off from around her neck and slammed them down on either side of her head onto the wooden table with a thunderous thud, "Impeccable timing." Eccarius hissed, clearly taken by surprise. He took a deep breath, his fangs flashing to the crowd with a crooked grin as he did his best to gather himself to present to the spectators surrounding them, "Very sorry for the interruption, I will be only but a brief moment, my children." Eccarius sang, turning as his long cape trailed behind him in a long, swoop motion.

Everyone's eyes followed Eccarius as he exited the basement with excessive speed. When the door closed behind him, it was silent, and Lily could hear the movement of everyone shifting their glance back to her in an eery unison motion.

With her head still cranked back to where she'd followed Eccarius leave, Lily lowered her head level to the large, wooden table she'd been pinned to. Lily felt her heart beating out of her chest, the adrenaline rushing through her body was practically disabling her as she struggled to catch her breathing through her nose. Her eyes were closed as she panted, struggling to maintain calm as she did her best to harness whatever she could inside her to help her in this moment.

Suddenly, there was a jolt against the table Lily was laying on, startling her. When she looked to her side, she saw Cassidy. He looked the part of the group that surrounded her, but it was him.

With minimal effort and in lightning speed, Cassidy yanked on each of the restraints around Lily's wrists and ankles, freeing her from the table. "What are you doing?" Someone from the crowd asked, stepping forward. Cassidy turned, holding out a gun to the person who'd spoken, "Not another peep." He warned quietly, his eyes that peaked above his sunglasses were full of craze and the group was caught off guard at Cassidy's actions.

Lily was finally able to sit up. Cassidy turned back to her, helping her into a sitting position and soon after, his hands moved to her mouth as he ripped the tape off. With a wince of pain, Lily spat out the fabric in her mouth, unable to hold back a whimper of relief escape from her. Cassidy watched her lift a hand up to her mouth as her face scrunched and her eyes closed and he watched her trembling hand cover her mouth. Cassidy could see her body vibrating and he could feel her heart race so fast it sounded like it was going to burst. With her head spinning, she struggled to gain her balance.

Luckily, Cassidy was there. He grabbed onto her tight, "Hey, hey. Yer fine." He assured, a bit worried she was about to pass out.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, wincing in pain as her throat was incredibly raw from the screaming she'd been doing. Cassidy could feel her shaking like a leaf, wrapping his arms around her as he urged her to stand. With her legs nearly buckling as she stood on her feet, she was able to take a short, choppy breath in and let her eyes look up to his. She felt pure relief. She hadn't _imagined_ his eyes, she _had_ seen them in the back of the room moments ago. She stared into them, and they were just the ones she remembered. The ones she recognized much more so than the ones he'd worn the last time she'd seen him earlier that day, "There you are." She huffed breathlessly, glad to notice he'd returned to the Cassidy she knew and needed.

"Here I am." Cassidy said in the most reassuring way he could, their hands gripping tight onto one another.

With urgency, Lily did her best to bring Cassidy up to speed standing directly into his side, "He's... he's turning these people into vampires and killing them. Drinking vampire blood makes him more.. more powerful and he can do all sorts of... fucked up shit because of it." She explained. It was as if they were there alone, no one in the crowd moved or said a word, "I got into his mind briefly, I saw it. I think I saw what his plans were too.." She spoke quickly, her voice was shaking as she still tried to come down from the massive adrenaline high she was experiencing, still trying to piece it all together herself. With her chest tight, she took another choppy breath in.

Cassidy's brow lowered, "Jaysis." He hissed, his mouth twisting in disturbance. Lily clenched her grasp onto Cassidy, "There's something about my blood. He's drank a lot of it, and now he's too strong for me to get back into."

Cassidy's eyes began to scour Lily's body, searching for bite marks, "He didn't-" Cassidy started, to which Lily cut him off, "No." Lily said, "He hasn't laid any teeth on me. Just pumped it out of me and sliced me up a few times." She groaned, "He wanted to change me into a vampire and use me as a long term power source or something." Lily shook her head, not entirely understanding what she'd seen.

The anger in Cassidy was apparent, his soft and concerned eyes changed back to the red hot furious ones, "I'm gonna kill 'im." He stated between clenched teeth - the composure he'd used to get himself into the basement undetected was long gone. Every part of him wish he'd approached things he usually would have - he should've busted down the door and ripped Eccarius' head off.

Lily used her hands that clung onto Cassidy to jolt him slightly, "He's a _lot_ more dangerous than what he made out to be." Lily warned, gasping in a state of panic, "He's got Tulip's here somewhere." She whispered as she shook her head, "Let's just find her and get the fuck out of here."

Turning his head, Cassidy kept his eyes locked with Lily's, "I'm not leaving 'ere without killing 'im." Cassidy stated. He handed Lily the gun he had, "Tulip's car's down a few blocks west." He continued, clearly not taking Lily's words of warning seriously as he helped her off the table and dragged her through the crowd to one of the back corners of the basement. There was a flag, with a unique symbol on it that Cassidy reached up and ripped down to reveal a piece of plywood that had been nailed in to cover a small window towards the ceiling of the basement, "I'll keep this gobshite occupied. You go get Tulip." Cassidy continued, reaching up to the plywood and ripping it off with ease in one swift motion. Lily was shaking her head, looking over her shoulder to the crowd behind them that was staring towards them, beginning to converse. With her brow furrowing, Lily turned back to Cassidy, who was still going on with his route of plan regardless of her obvious doubt against it, "When y'get 'er, get the both of ye outta 'ere." He instructed, "Yer phone's out there, too. I'll ring ye after I'm done rippin' this wanker's head off, then." He'd set up a makeshift staircase out of barrels and furniture he'd moved around and climbed up, punching the glass window out and tearing out all the broken glass around it.

He jumped back down to her, picking out the piece of glass in his fist, "Gonna 'ave to stay wit 'im until the sun comes up." Cassidy stated, sniffing sharply as his chest puffed out in determination, "Gotta watch 'im burn."

"Cassidy." Lily spat out quickly, her heart still racing. He could tell by the look on her face and the tone of her voice that she wasn't game for Cassidy's plan, but he didn't care. "I know you want to kill him." Lily talked quickly, struggling to keep any breath in her, "I do, too. But we _can't_." She watched helplessly as Cassidy remained unchanged, not convinced she'd be able to talk him out of facing him, "Not like this." Lily continued, "He's too strong. We'll come back for him. I promise."

He didn't care what she had to say, and he was determined to kill Eccarius if it was the last thing he'd do, but it seemed she could tell he wasn't willing to listen to her. "_Please_." She begged, "Don't do this."

With his face nearly purple with built up rage, she wasn't certain that she would be able to talk him out of what was going on in his mind. He watched as Lily practically hyperventilated, shaking on spot as she used every little bit left in her to try and convince him. It felt like an eternity, but finally, Lily saw Cassidy's brow above his sunglass frames soften just slightly, "Fine." He spat, reluctantly following Lily's lead.

It seemed she was holding her breath as Lily finally let out a sigh of relief, she stared at the gun in her hand, tucking it into her waist as Cassidy turned around, lifting Lily up to get out the window he'd just broken before following closely behind her. The sun had set, and it was a dark and cloudy evening. While Lily looked up at the large house, Cassidy stood close at her side, following her eyes as they scoured the building.

"So, where's he got Tulip, then?" Cassidy asked. With a lump in her throat, Lily felt overwhelmed. By now, Eccarius would likely be aware Lily was gone, meaning their time was very limited, and as she stared at the massive estate she felt like she was drowning - shaking her head without a slightest clue as where Tulip was. It was a while before Lily realized how hard it was to breathe. She groaned in frustration at herself, still unable to control her breathing and stop herself from shaking the way she'd been the last several minutes. She felt weak and she felt useless.

Cassidy could see her struggling and beginning to deflate more and tried to encourage her, "Ye said ye saw it, right? In a vision?" He asked. With her eyes closed, Lily took as deep of breaths in as she could as she slowly began nodding, before she tried her best to remember every little detail of what she saw. As she did her best to recollect what she'd seen, her mind got away from her. Instead of simply remembering what she saw, something interfered with her current state - she could see the vision she'd first seen in Eccarius' mind - a glimpse of where he'd trapped Tulip, somewhere in this giant, dark house. But this time, when she approached closer - there was a flash of something else.

_First there was a symbol. And then numbers. Lastly, she saw a street sign. They flashed from one to another fast, it was hard for Lily to take it all in at first. But after several times, she was able to pick it all up._

_Again, the symbol appeared, then the numbers.. 1...3...1...5... then the street sign... First Street._

_HELP ME_

_She heard the scream - the cry for help - but the voice hadn't sounded familiar. It had been so loud, it was as if it was directly in Lily's ear - and it jolted her out of it._

Cassidy had caught Lily before she'd fallen down, "Wot happened?" He asked urgently. There was a noise in the basement that Cassidy picked up on, his eyes scanned the area urgently, "Lily, we gotta get movin', we can't jus stand 'ere." His eyes shot quickly from her up to the house.

With sweat dripping down her face and her body feeling like jelly, she shook her head, still gasping for a proper breath in, "We need to leave." She gasped, "_Now_."

There was a look in Lily's face that Cassidy didn't argue with. He had about a million questions why suddenly she'd wanted to abandon the idea of rescuing Tulip, but there was no time. With his hands on her and an arm around her back, he pushed at her, "Come on." He urged, grabbing a hand of hers as they began running as fast as they could to where Cassidy had parked Tulip's car.


End file.
